The Hell in Paradis Island
by Matthew0526
Summary: This is my retelling of Attack on Titan's story with changes and happenings thought up by me. Writing this story is a big thing for me as it is the first time I write something like this. I am italian so I don't promise that there won't be grammatical errors. Having said that, I hope you all enjoy my story. MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS. UNPOPULAR PAIRINGS WITH THE SLOWEST OF BURNS.
1. The Day Everything Started

**THE DAY EVERYTHING STAR****T****E****D**

He didn't know for how much time he had been running but he still ran without thought. He couldn't hear anything in his surroundings other than the heavy beat of his heart in his ears. He had lost sight of his two friends for a while now. He was drenched in sweat and his legs hurt, but he kept running.

Suddenly he was tackled to the ground from behind by someone much smaller than him, but very strong.

"Bertholdt!! Can you hear me!?" The blonde girl on top of him asked frantically, covered in sweat and panting in exertion.

The boy in question could finally hear something other than his heartbeat in his ears and turned to the girl with relief.

"A-Annie...I can...hear you." The boy replied, panting harshly.

"Come on, we have to move. I saw Reiner run that way, if we don't hurry up, we'll lose track of him." She informed, still panting, slowly getting up and helping Bertholdt do the same.

"Okay, lead the way." The taller boy said, standing up, calmer now that Annie was here.

They started to run towards the direction Reiner supposedly went for more than fifteen minutes until they got out of the forest, and entered in a field of green grass.

Meanwhile their blond companion was panicking completely, crouching under a tree's shade, he turned around to see that none of his comrades were behind him.

"Bertholdt? ...Annie?" He whispered and then everything that happened came back to his mind.

Gasping he called for Marcel's name with agony in his voice, "M-Marcel!?"

_He was eaten...by a titan...to protect...me. He's dead...because of me._ The boy thought, lying with his face inches from the ground, hands in his hair.

_Have the others been eaten?! What should I do? I can't stay here...I have to find the others...I can't be...the only one...still alive_.

The boy didn't notice the quick footsteps that neared him until he was suddenly kicked in the side.

He rolled away, screaming in terror.

"You surprise me Reiner. This is the first time you beat both of us in a long distance run." Annie's tone was unimpressed, contrasting what she said. Behind her, Bertholdt was kneeling, exhausted, covered in sweat and panting in exertion. Reiner looked at them in relief, before noticing the expression on Annie's face. It was one of pain, though she wasn't hurt physically.

"Dammit...if only...you had transformed, then Marcel wouldn't be dead..." The girl murmured, starting to cry in grief as she thought about what happened to her friend.

"Why didn't you transform?" Annie wasn't asking that to Reiner, but to Marcel and herself.

She couldn't understand why Marcel didn't transform after he got grabbed by that titan, or why she just stood there and watched like an idiot as he was eaten.

She only moved when Bertholdt grabbed her hand and dragged her away. It was like her brain switched off at the exact moment that titan appeared. She only regained control of her senses when she was separated from Bertholdt.

"Where did that fucking titan even come from!?" Screamed Reiner, looking at Annie's grieving expression with anger.

"It suddenly springed up from the ground." Bertholdt answered him with tears in his eyes.

"But the Marleyans said that we would encounter titans only when we got close to the walls!!"

"They also said that not all titans behave normally."

Silence surrounded the three Warriors.

They were emotionally challenged after losing a friend and comrade which they spent more than five years with.

"Shit, what do we do now that Marcel is gone?" That question left a bitter taste in Annie's mouth and she stopped breathing for a few seconds.

But it was the truth, Marcel was dead, her friend of five years who was the second closest person to her, was dead.

She saw him get chewed by that fucking titan with her own eyes and nobody will see him ever again.

Not her, not Reiner, not Bertholdt, not Pieck and not even the brother he left behind in Marley.

The realization of that made Annie feel lightheaded, and she fell to the ground with the urge to throw up.

How could she face Porco ever again after what happened to his brother, after she watched his brother die?

Thinking about that made her ask herself if they could actually complete the mission, and survive without Marcel leading them. She doesn't believe they can.

"None of us were born to lead people...like he was...we won't be able to capture the Founding Titan without his guidance. We already had a small chance to begin with and now that he's gone we're doomed." She said in a heartbroken tone.

Reiner looked at Annie in shock after hearing what she said. _Is __she giving up on the mission?_ The boy wondered.

The girl, much smaller and shorter than him, who flipped him on his back without effort during his first day at close combat training.

The girl who taught him and the others about the art of fighting.

The girl who still flips him on his back when they train, even after five years from their first day.

The girl that Bertholdt is fond of, that he looked and still looks at with adoration from the first time he laid his jade eyes on her cerulean ones, is giving up?

The Warchief had said that the mission wouldn't have been easy, but Reiner never thought that he would lose one of his best friends or that he would witness the breakdown of the great Annie Leonhart in front of his very eyes, before it even started.

Can he really take control of the situation? **Him?**...The worst out of the six warriors?...

_Porco should have gotten the Armored Titan. _Reiner thought in his mind.

Because even though the fact that he would have lived 15 years, upsets Reiner.

He **knows** Porco would have been the right choice, because Porco would never have been scared to the point of hesitating to act in dangerous situations.

More importantly, Porco wouldn't have hesitated to transform, and beat that titan's face in.

_Fuck...why did I get chosen instead of him?_ He asked in his mind pitifully.

Then he remembered what Marcel said before he wasted his precious life to save him.

**Reiner...I'm sorry...I'm sorry...you shouldn't have been chosen as the Armored Titan, I just wanted my little brother to live longer than me...than us...I-I wanted him to live a long and peaceful life, not one full of war, suffering and violence...I'm sorry.**

Reiner blinked away the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. He looked at the sobbing form of Annie, at Bertholdt's shocked and teary gaze directed at the blonde girl, and steeled himself.

_Your death won't have been pointless__ Marcel. I won't permit it to be._

"We have to push through this." Reiner said with determination.

"We can't stop here. We have to reach the walls and destroy them, just as the Warchief said we should. We'll attract as less titans as possible just like Marcel planned. The eldians inside the walls will have enough time to escape. During the chaos we'll slip among them and search for the Founder." Reiner declared, looking intently at both of them after having stood up.

Annie and Bertholdt looked at him in incredulity for a few moments with only the sound of the wind in their ears.

Tears were still running down Bertholdt's face, and Annie's cheeks were still wet even though she had stopped crying.

"What about Mar...the Jaw Titan?" Asked Bertholdt quietly, looking at Reiner.

"That titan most probably transformed itself back into a human by now." The dark haired boy presumed.

"Yeah...that's true...but it's useless to go after whoever that guy is," Replied his blond friend, "we would just get tired if we searched for him."

_I__t's true, it would be useless to search for that eldian, since it would be difficult to get him to collaborate with us, and since he isn't trained in using Marcel's titan power, he could get us all caught_. Bertholdt thought.

Looking directly in Reiner's eyes, his vision blurred by his tears, Bertholdt understood immediately that his best friend didn't want to give up even after Marcel's death.

And Bertholdt realized with shock that he didn't intend to give up either. He just **can't** let Reiner fight alone.

They were all here, risking their lives, for a cause worth fighting for. They can't give up, no matter the situation they're in, even if everything becomes more and more difficult as time passes by.

_I'm supposed to be the strongest but I never acted like it and I never took responsability. Because of that, Marcel's dead._ _Because of that, Porco will never see his brother again._ He thought with regret.

But looking at his two other friends with determination, he promised himself that he won't let them down. He'll make sure they both survive. Even if it will cost him his life.

Bertholdt stood up on wobbly legs.

Annie glanced increduly at him and then at Reiner.

_Do they really want to continue the mission? Do they really think that without Marcel we have a chance at completing it? _The blonde girl asked mentally.

She was ready to tell them it was all pointless. That everything was pointless and that she only understood that after Marcel's death, when she froze and asked herself.

_Was __Marcel's death pointless?_ _Were __all the times he talked and comforted me, pointless? Were all the times he slapped his brother on the back, called him Pokko and told him not to swear, pointless? Were all the times he helped Reiner train his fighting skills, pointless? Were all the times he ruffled Pieck's hair with affection or cheered Bertholdt to do his very best during training, pointless?_

Annie knew the answer to all those questions almost automatically.

The answer was **NO**.

None of those moments were pointless.

The time she spent with Marcel and the others, was the **be****st** time of her 11 years of life. Probably of her whole life, even if she still had 14 years left to live, and she would do anything, to return to that period of her life and live in it, with them, forever.

But the world isn't like that, and the only thing she has now, is the memory.

She never thought that after leaving her house — her **father** — for the training facility of the Warriors of Marley, she would find what she never had and what she desired the most.

A **family**, friends who **cared** about her and who went through the same, if not worse things as her.

A father who made her grow up among punching bags, trained her to become the best killing machine possible, and use her to become a honorary Marleyan, without the tiniest bit of care for the fact that his only daughter, would die 15 years after she became a Warrior.

Only thinking about the fact that he would live a peaceful life if he sacrificed his only daughter.

She didn't regret never returning to her house after she left for the first time.

Even though she and Reiner have never been close. She knows he and Bertholdt are, and that the dark haired boy would follow his friend to the end of the world.

But Bertholdt was too important to her.

He was the boy who was kind to her when she didn't deserve it. He was the boy who never stopped suggesting her to talk to him and his friends. He was the boy that understood that she hated being alone even if she didn't try to be in anyone's company.

_I failed in protecting Marcel...but I will not fail to protect Bertholdt. _The blonde thought with confidence.

"If we're going to continue the mission, then we're heading to the walls right this moment." She declared with a resolute voice. Without waiting for a reply, she cut herself with her ring and let heat envelope her.

**11**** hours later**

They had been heading north for hours and the walls were nowhere in sight yet.

Bertholdt and Reiner were positioned on Annie's shoulders, or at least the shoulders of her titan form.

_Dammit, this is bad. _Reiner thought, looking behind him.

Annie had attracted a great amount of titans as she ran north. Everywhere he looked, Reiner saw titans chasing them. There were so many that they sent a giant cloud of dust behind them.

Reiner hoped the eldians inside the walls were ready to evacuate their population in case of great catastrophies because he dared not think about what would happen if the crowd behind them chased normal people.

On his right, Annie's mouth opened and a big cloud of steam got out of it.

She was tired. Reiner knew she was.

The plan was for Marcel to carry them to the walls since he could stay in his titan form for almost an entire day. Now that he was gone, his role fell to Annie as she was the best to fill it in his absence. Unfortunately for them she already passed her maximum limit, and it was only a matter of time before she collapsed in exhaustion.

_Shit...are we really gonna die here? Without achieving anything? _

Reiner's bad thoughts were interrupted by Bertholdt's cry.

"The Walls!! I see them!!"

Reiner raised his head and looked ahead of him.

The walls were just in their reach. The distance wasn't too great, they could definitely make it.

He shouted for Annie to switch with him, and they continued making their way towards the walls.

He stopped when he arrived in front of what seemed to be a gate, leaving Bertholdt in front of it, and distancing himself from him while keeping Annie safe in his right hand.

After getting to a safe distance, Reiner looked towards the gate as a huge blast of thunder hit his friend.

Bertholdt felt flesh and immense heat envelope his body. The ground shook for a few seconds until he could grip the top of the walls with his hands.

He raised his head and gazed over the wall to see a big city. He watched as people pointed at him in fear. Glancing behind him, he saw the titans that Annie attracted come closer and closer.

_The earlier I do it, the bigger the chance for the people of the walls to escape. _With this thought, Bertholdt kicked down the gate.

The impact of his kick was disastrous, people were crushed and houses were destroyed by the debris of the gate.

_I knew I had to do this. Me, Reiner, Marcel and Annie knew, we had to do this, Porco and Pieck knew this too. The Warchief told us that this was necessary... but I didn't think it would be so horrible to see. _Bertholdt thought as he made his enormous body collapse on the ground, starting to burn up the huge amount of flesh that protected his nape's area.

When he got out of his nape — flesh still attaching him to his titan's body — he saw a pure titan who was even more terrifying than the one who ate Marcel.

It had a macabre smile on its face while it walked towards him.

Bertholdt had never been more terrified in his life than in this moment. Frozen in fear, he looked at the titan that was about to grab him until it was suddenly punched in the face by an armored fist.

Reiner opened his right palm and waited for Bertholdt to get on it. His friend quickly scrambled off, his limp titan form evaporating.

After Reiner closed his hand, Bertholdt grasped Annie's unconscious body in his arms as his friend climbed to the top of the wall.

The sight that met Reiner was terrible.

Titans had spilled through the gate, destroying houses and eating people alive.

Bertholdt got off Reiner's right hand while carrying Annie in his arms.

Looking at the devastation going on in the city below him, Reiner tried to stay focused on his priority, bring: himself, Bertholdt and Annie among the people of the walls.

Then he saw it.

It was a second gate that closed off this entire area from what he realized was another line of walls. If he didn't breach it, it would be impossible for them to infiltrate among the population.

Glancing at Bertholdt and Annie, Reiner made a decision. He'll wait for at least an hour before breaching that inner gate, so that the population could have a chance at escaping.

Slowly he laid on top of the wall with his titan form and secured himself so that he wouldn't fall. Then he got out of his armored nape and talked to Bertholdt with a shaky tone.

"Bertholdt, we're gonna wait here for at least an hour before we go. In the meantime take care of Annie, okay?"

"Y-yeah, all right." The taller boy replied, looking in horror at the chaos he was responsible for.

**20 ****hours later**

It was midday, — just in time for lunch — when Annie woke up.

Slowly opening her eyelids, she saw Bertholdt sitting to her right, knees pressed against his chest.

"Hey... you finally woke up. It felt like you slept for 4 years." He said, a small smile on his face.

It disappeared so fast that she thought she just imagined it.

Sitting up, she looked in alarm and confusion at all the people around them, minding their own business without so much as a glance at the two of them.

"Where are we? Where's Reiner?" She quickly asked, her mouth dry and her voice hoarse.

"We're in a refugee center, and Reiner went to get rations of food for us while I kept an eye on you." The boy replied somberly, looking at the floor of the building they were in with an empty expression.

It was years since Annie last saw Bertholdt with that expression on his face and she was filled with trepidation by it.

"What happened?" She asked softly, voice still hoarse, trying to meet his jade eyes.

When she didn't get an answer, she gripped the arm that was around his legs. Bertholdt flinched at the contact and met her eyes.

"What happened?" She asked again firmly.

He gazed away.

"What we knew would happen to the people here...once we breached the walls." He whispered sniffling.

"Soldiers, men, women, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, kids... they're all dead because of me. Crushed by the debris of the gate and eaten by the titans that got inside...was there really no other way?" He asked, tears slowly running down his face.

Annie looked at him in sadness. There really was no other way...

"I'm sorry Bertholdt. I really am sorry... but you didn't do it because you wanted to or because you liked it. You did it because we would have all died otherwise. I'm sorry for what you had to do, but we have to go forward. **You **have to go forward." She whispered in his ear, hugging him deeply.

Bertholdt slowly embraced her, crying on her right shoulder.

"W-why?...All I'm good for...is killing and destroying..." He sobbed silently.

Annie embraced him even tighter, and caressed his hair as a lump formed in her throat at his words.

After several minutes, their comrade returned but neither the blonde girl nor the dark haired boy noticed him.

Their blond companion froze at seeing them in their position. He slowly put down the two trays of food he was carrying.

After a minute of hearing their sobs and murmurs his vision started to blur, and he decided to crawl towards his companions.

He hugged them and finally broke down in tears, telling them that he'll make sure they succeed in their mission.

Whatever the cost.

That same evening Reiner was looking at the ceiling, finding it hard to sleep until he could hear Bertholdt's even breathing to his left.

Comforted by something familiar, he slowly closed his eyes and let his tired body and mind rest.


	2. The Aftermath of Wall Maria's Fall

**THE AFTERMATH OF WALL MARIA'S FALL**

She blew on her cup of tea before sipping it.

From the day she got her power, she started to hate heat or hot things. She just felt like shit whenever she ate something warmer than normal.

_What will I do today? _She asked herself mentally, watching the other clients of the bar she was in.

That's what she always asked herself these days. She had no idea why and how she was alive. She had no idea about where she was. She had no idea about what to do other than steal and eat to survive. Yes, survive. She wasn't living, she was surviving.

She was reborn among suffering and death. She knew that all the misery that she was witnessing had something to do with her returning to life.

_Maybe it's some kind of sacrifice, but why? Why would so many people die just for me to wake up from that nightmare? _She asked herself, before the bartender called her.

"Hey Ymir," She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, "do you want a refill?"

She was a regular client in this bar, so at a certain point she had had to introduce herself, even if she didn't want to. The bartender's name was Kevin, he was actually a friendly guy who seemed to care deeply about his customers... unless said customers created trouble for him.

She shook her head at him with a smile, "I think I'm done for now... but if you let me stay at this table for a bit more time, I may just change my mind." She told him calmly.

"Sure, no problem. As long as no customers need that table you can stay there." Kevin told her accommodatingly.

Ymir gave him a grateful nod as she returned to her musings.

Nothing particular happened for the rest of the day, but when she went to sleep, she dreamed of a light brown haired kid who plead her to return to him.

When she woke up the next morning, she cried without knowing the reason.

It wasn't the first time something like this occurred, she always had these brief dreams since the day she returned human.

Everytime she woke up from these dreams she was left with a feeling of distress and regret.

She had no idea about why she had these dreams, but they made her feel more alive that she ever felt in these last months.

Sometimes she felt like she was living a life that wasn't hers to live.

She hoped to find a purpose someday.

**October 17th, 846**

Annie watched as Bertholdt pushed the spade under the log.

The boy was sweating profusely, his slender torso gleaming in the sun.

He continued to push until the log was eradicated from the soil, after that he kneeled on the ground, inhaling deep breaths of air.

"Good job," she remarked in a monotone voice, "that was the twentieth of the day for you, though Reiner is at the thirtieth." She informed him before they heard a fierce shout far to their left.

"Was that...the...last one?" Asked Reiner, his brawny body covered in sweat, panting after uprooting a log.

"No, there is still one left." She replied with the same monotone voice.

The blond boy growled while his friend stood up and headed towards the last log.

"No, I'll get it... you rest." Reiner commanded, immediately standing up with newfound vigor.

His taller friend didn't find it in himself to argue, and lied back down on the ground.

"So...Annie, now that we're alone and we've done our job...do you intend to tell us what you discovered in the last few days?" The blond boy asked, wearily looking at the farmers 20 meters from them.

The blonde girl glanced at him and then at Bertholdt.

"The current king on the throne is a fraud..." the two boys looked at her in shock, "...he doesn't have any kind of power, he's just a pawn they use to divert attention from the real king who is in hiding." She informed them, stopping for a moment to let the two boys process this information.

"The members of the government are all puppets without authority, but they're probably not eldians or subjects of Ymir..." she continued.

"...it is likely that they're a different race from the eldians who sucked up to Karl Fritz a century ago, and that they've been given power in exchange of their loyalty to the Founder."

Reiner pondered on this new information with a frown. "So...the government and the king are just figureheads..."

"That's great!! This means we only need to watch the government more closely to find the true king of the walls!!" Bertholdt presumed optimistically.

"It's not that easy..." Annie told him, "...we don't have any way to get close to the government, and they would never accept servants that they can't trust...especially after the fall of Wall Maria."

Reiner nodded, agreeing with Annie's statement. "That's right, the members of the government may be figureheads, but they're not complete idiots, unfortunately for us, this means they won't accept any refugee among their household."

Bertholdt nodded mutely, "Yeah, sorry. I talked too soon."

Reiner looked at him silently, "Look, I know that you want this to be over, I want it too, Annie wants it too, but we have to be smart about it. **Yo****u** have to be smart about it...okay?"

Bertholdt nodded, "S-sorry." Reiner just sighed while Annie looked away.

They stayed in silence for a few minutes as Reiner cut off the roots from the log.

"I was thinking... that maybe we should breach Trost, so that the Founder comes to fight us." Annie said slowly.

Bertholdt glanced at her alarmed as a pregnant silence permeated the three warriors.

_If we decide to breach Trost, then I'm going to be the one who'll do it...it will be just like **that da**__**y**._.. Thought the dark haired boy, sweating nervously.

"Do you think that the Founder will reveal himself?" Reiner asked curiously.

_It is unlikely, the Tybur family said that the king of the walls made a vow to renounce war, so maybe the Founder wouldn't fight even if his subjects were dying. _Reiner thought.

"I'm not sure... but I don't know what else we can do." Annie shrugged.

"Every time I go to the Interior there is a chance for me to be discovered... I feel like one of these days they'll capture me." The blonde girl murmured.

Bertholdt and Reiner silently pondered on what she said.

Since the day they've infiltrated inside Wall Maria, Annie has been traveling deeper into the walls to get information about the Founder. She used her titan form to travel to the Interior and to return. Reiner had qualms about this process, but he had no other choice. He still wondered how it was possible for her to have not been seen by someone during one of her outings.

Reiner thought they had no other choice so he told them a plan he had been preparing for quite some time. "I heard that many boys and girls have joined the military because of the food shortage..." he paused for a moment, "for the last months I've been thinking that maybe we should enlist." Annie looked at him with slight surprise as Bertholdt watched him silently.

"That will consume much of our time..." Annie muttered.

"Yes, that's why I never brought it up... but with what you discovered, I see no safer way of proceeding with our mission." Reiner stated, jaw tight.

"Safer? How can it be safer?! We'll be surrounded by aspiring soldiers who'll butcher us if we're found out!!" Annie exclaimed.

"That's just a small chance," Reiner remarked, "if we hurt ourselves, we can safely regenerate our wounds at a normal pace, furthermore, I doubt that some kids will know that we're titans just by looking at us."

Annie looked at Reiner silently, "What would we do after?"

"We'll get close to the Interior... and as we'll get more information, we'll consider doing what you proposed."

"If we decide to do what you proposed, we'll only breach Trost. We can't trust the government to take care of the population anymore... especially after what they did." Reiner added, face hard, thinking about the suicidal operation to retake Wall Maria.

Annie and Bertholdt nodded in agreement, before the dark haired boy asked his two friends an unexpected question.

"What do you think the Marleyans are doing right now?" Annie and Reiner glanced at him silently.

Reiner swallowed, "I don't know for certain, but they're most probably worried about 'their' warriors..." he answered quietly, pausing for a moment, "The Warchief is surely keeping up the act...Pieck and...Porco too."

Annie and Bertholdt looked at the ground gloomily, thinking about their friends.

Reiner noticed and spoke again, "We'll find the Founder and return. We won't die here, understood?!"

His two comrades didn't answer him apart from nodding faintly.

Reiner looked at the ground.

He desired to complete the mission and protect Bertholdt and Annie with all his heart, even if it costed him his life.

But he wondered who would care about his worthless life.

How many people would be saddened to know that Reiner Braun died?

The only one who he was sure would, was Bertholdt. The blond and the dark haired boy have been friends since the first day of the warrior training, when Reiner wasn't good at anything. Bertholdt had helped him greatly, and Reiner always felt a strong connection to him even though he tended to admire Marcel more than him. Bertholdt would probably be lost without Reiner, just as Reiner would be lost without Bertholdt.

Then there was the Warchief, he was almost like the father he never had. Reiner was the only warrior candidate who trained with him almost constantly, and he believed that Zeke was the likely reason he was chosen for the Armored Titan instead of Porco.

_It was a mistake._ He thought in his mind.

Reiner idolized the Warchief, but he knew that Zeke was completely focused on his objective. The Warchief would be saddened by Reiner's death, but he would move on.

Then there was Porco, he remembered the time when the two of them were as thick as thieves. That changed when Reiner was chosen as the inheritor of the Armored Titan, and Porco was forced to stay in Marley until his turn to receive a titan power arrived.

Porco was upset with him. But the day, Reiner, Marcel, Bertholdt and Annie were sent to Paradis Island, he had plead all of them to come back alive, even Reiner. He had cried for the first time in their presence, showing the affection and vulnerability that he harbored for them.

_If there was a chance me and him could go back to being friends, it was blown away when Marcel died. _Reiner thought sadly.

Well it didn't matter anyway, Reiner had survived, now it was his duty to complete the mission, and make sure that Marcel's death wasn't a complete mistake.

No matter the cost.

—

**(Author's note)**

**I'm sorry for the wait of this second chapter. I know it's short but I can already tell you readers that the first parts of this story are going to be very slow as I will show special friendships, (That weren't shown in the anime or the manga) between some characters. Armin will have a slight change of personality as I never liked him very much until chapter 112 of the manga where he showed pure fury.**** And I promise that almost all of the characters will have a presence (small as it may be) in this story.**

**Anyway, I know that not many people will read this story but I don't care. The reason I'm writing this story is because I couldn't find a good fan story about almost all of the characters of AoT. Though it will take much time, I intend to finish this story which will have both same and different events from the anime and the manga.**

**Having said that, if I made some grammar mistakes or if you want to give me advice on how to write. Please feel free to review and inform me. Follow and favourite the story too, even if it may seem trivial for some of you, knowing that people are liking the story encourages me a lot.**


	3. The Training Regiment Part One

**THE TRAINING REGIMENT**

**PART ****ONE**

**May 17th, 848**

He stood still, looking at the monster that peered over the wall. Face almost skinless, its jade eyes looking straight at him.

**His jade eyes**.

Then debris fell all around him, crushing people and destroying houses.

The last thing he saw, was a big piece of rock falling unto him.

He woke up, gasping, covered in sweat, looking alarmingly at his surroundings as he sat up.

Thankfully nobody seemed to have woken up because of him. Not even his best friend. At least he won't need to lie or talk to anyone about why he's sweating like a feverishly sick man. He didn't even know how he could sleep among all these people, knowing what he's responsible for.

Laying back on his bed he thought about how fucked up his sole presence here was. He was the maker of hell, the killer of hundreds of thousands, and he deserved nothing other than pain and death. It didn't matter that his mission was more important than any body count, he still deserved nothing more than to be absolutely butchered.

With a sudden jolt he heard the bell signalling the start of the day of training for all the cadets. He looked across the barracks to see Eren stand up, as if he was waiting for this moment since the second he went to sleep. Beside him, Armin was getting up with a sleepy expression. The blond had trained vigorously the previous day.

He wasn't physically strong, but he was trying to get better... and Bertholdt was helping him...

It was uncomfortable for him to socialize with the other cadets.

It's not like he hated helping Armin or hated passing time with him. On the contrary, he liked spending time with the blond very much. What he hated was the fact that he was deceiving him. Armin had no idea that the one helping him train was the Colossal Titan...the responsible for his grandfather's death and the death of countless others.

How could Bertholdt behave like he's Armin's friend?

It's because he had no other choice.

Either he revealed himself as the Colossal Titan, to Armin; and let himself, Reiner and Annie get captured; or he lied to the blond and everyone else...

While Bertholdt formed a close friendship with Armin, Reiner formed a deep bond with Eren.

The two boys trained together almost constantly, and Bertholdt was aware of Reiner's behaviour, even more so than Annie was. He had started to behave just like Marcel, helping every cadet with their problems, smiling and laughing as if he was one of them.

Annie was absolutely disgusted while Bertholdt was worried. What was going through Reiner's head for him to act like that?

The two friends weren't able to talk in private for long. The few times they met up with Annie in secret were only to talk about the mission. They couldn't waste time or risk being caught awake by the instructors or the other cadets. So, he and Annie weren't able to adress Reiner's behaviour or confront him about it.

The subject of his worries clapped him on the back with a smile in that exact moment, "Come on Bertl, we'll be late if we don't hurry."

He just nodded without saying a word and started to put his trainee jacket on, hoping that the next two years of training would pass quickly.

Sometime later, he was running alongside Armin while Eren followed Reiner, who wanted to help all the cadets in difficulty.

The shorter blond was doing great today and Bertholdt didn't doubt that Armin would become stronger than the average soldier. Especially with his intellect.

"You're doing really good." Bertholdt told him quietly. Armin looked at him gratefully, "Thank you, I know that you could go faster than this, I'm sorry to slow you down... you can go ahead if you want." The blond told him selflessly.

"No, I'll...keep you company." Bertholdt said, glancing at Armin for a second.

"I'm serious," he said looking at him while he ran, "I know that you could keep up with Jean, Annie or Mikasa... you could even finish the jog before them."

"I-I'm not really sure about that...I'm not that great, honestly."

"You underestimate yourself Bertholdt. I noticed that you seem to hold back when you're in the presence of others, as if you're unsure of your abilities," the blond remarked with a thoughtful expression, glancing at him, "but when you're alone, you seem much more confident. You know that no one will judge you because you're good at training, right? Not even Jean will. He spends too much time boasting about the fact that he's better than Eren."

The blond boy looked at him worryingly, "I hope that you trust **me** not to judge you...it's not like," Armin coughed before finishing his sentence, "I'm going to eat you."

Bertholdt put on a thoughtful expression, and the two cadets stayed silent for a few moments, "I don't know why I act like that...maybe it's because I feel a bit embarassed if people are watching me...I don't like being the center of attention." He lied so well these days, it was almost like second nature to him.

But it wasn't a complete lie. He really didn't want to be the center of attention, especially since the one time some cadets asked him for help. Thankfully Reiner had interceded, and offered his help to them, saying that Bertholdt was shy. Only Armin preferred the dark haired boy's company as they both liked to read books and talk to each other instead of just training physically. Of course that doesn't mean that the only thing Reiner and Eren did together; was training.

Armin smiled at him, "I already guessed that...I don't like being the center of attention either, though I never am... Still, I think that you should be more sure of yourself."

Bertholdt glanced at Armin before looking ahead. He didn't ponder on Armin's supportive comment for long. After some minutes of running in silence apart from Armin's even panting, Bertholdt let his eyes wander.

He looked at Annie who was in the lead with Mikasa keeping up with her. The two young women were almost 20 meters away, but Bertholdt could recognize her pale blonde hair anywhere. It was notorious among the 104th that Mikasa and Annie were rivals. Bertholdt thought that he knew the reason.

A little more than a year had passed since the forming of the 104th Cadet Regiment. During this time, Annie isolated herself from all the cadets...apart from one...

Apart from Armin's best friend and Mikasa Ackerman's obsession...**Eren** **Jaeger.**

When Reiner and Bertholdt asked her why she was training in close combat with him, she had answered that she was bored, and since the black haired boy was interested in her fighting skills, she decided to train with him. She had assured that nothing was going on between them other than that, but Bertholdt didn't completely believe it.

He wondered if she liked Eren. The black haired boy seemed to like her greatly or at least have interest in her. One night, Bertholdt had heard Eren ask Reiner about Annie. He was under his bed's covers, just about to doze off, when he heard the question.

**"Reiner...do you know anything about Annie?"**

**He was closing his eyes, hoping to have a dreamless sleep when the question made him wide awake. He stayed completely motionless and strained his ears.**

**"Annie? Do you mean Laonart?" He heard Reiner innocently ask. It seemed like he actually didn't know Annie, and Bertholdt briefly wondered when Reiner became such a good liar.**

**"No, I mean Leonhart." He heard Eren emphasize the right pronunciation of Annie's name. "I wondered if you knew something about her...she's...a mistery..."**

**There was silence for a few long moments, and Bertholdt imagined Reiner looking at Eren in feigned confusion while the black haired boy looked at his blond friend expectantly.**

**"I don't know why, but I want to know more about her. There is no one here that is as isolated as she is...and I'm curious." Eren said quietly, briefly looking at the cadets in the barrack who were talking to each other in playful tones. They weren't soldiers at all...or Warriors for that matter.**

**They had no idea that hundreds of younger boys and girls were trained to their utmost limit everyday, and that those boys and girls were so tired after, that they wouldn't even find the meager strenght needed to engage in social activities.**

**"I tried to ask her about her life before she enlisted...but I don't think she's telling me the whole truth, she always gives me vague answers..." Eren stated, frowning. Bertholdt started to feel sweat begin to form at his temple, and he almost growled in irritation when he felt a drop ticklishly slide across his forehead's left side, creating a small stain on his pillow.**

**Reiner looked at Eren in silence before shrugging, "I wouldn't know, she's more a mistery to me than she is to you." He stated innocently. "But about your curiosity towards her, don't tell me that Eren Jaeger found something more interesting than titans to think about?" He asked teasingly, smirking at the black haired boy.**

**The rest of the discussion dured for a few minutes with Eren getting annoyed and confused by Reiner's teasing. After the two boys stopped talking about Annie, Bertholdt lost interest in their conversation and slowly dozed off to sleep.**

That's what had happened, but Bertholdt still didn't know if Annie liked Eren... romantically.

He was sure that it wasn't a secret, to his warrior friends or to Annie herself, that he liked the blonde girl. Of course, he never outright said it and no one confronted him about it. With their mission and the kind of lives they had, there wasn't really time to think about love...and on top of that, Annie never seemed interested in him in the same way he was with her. The thing Bertholdt knew for certain was that Annie cared about him, Pieck, Porco and Reiner a lot. That's why he loved her.

Ending his inner monologue, he payed attention to his surroundings as he saw Jean run by Mikasa's side, trying in vain to make conversation with the taciturn raven haired girl. He mildly noticed Armin's emotionless expression turn to a smiling one as Mikasa sped up, practically ignoring Jean, and causing Annie to sprint to keep up with her.

The blonde clearly didn't want to finish the long distance run after the raven haired girl.

Jean didn't try to stay with the two girls as Marco approached him and tried to make friendly conversation, not mentioning the embarassing event that just transpired.

Armin chuckled, causing Bertholdt to glance at him. The blond looked like a deer caught in headlights, for having been seen laughing at Jean's pitiful attempt to talk to Mikasa.

"Uuhh...please ignore that. Seeing Mikasa ignore Jean was sad at first, but now it just became funny." Armin told him.

"Yeah...that's true." Bertholdt murmured slowly, not really thinking it funny.

After the long distance run, the cadets went to have lunch in the mess hall. The militaries were really well fed compared to the population of Wall Rose and the remnants of the people from Wall Maria.

When lunch ended, Bertholdt was assigned to wash the dishes while most of the other cadets continued training.

It seemed that because Bertholdt was talented with the maneuvering gear, the instructor decided to give him chores whenever there wasn't a cadet that he wanted to punish.

On top of that, Shadis expected Bertholdt to improve his training grade even if he had less time to train, in fact it wasn't the first time that the instructor gave him such a chore. It wasn't only him though. Mikasa and the other top ranking cadets were given the same treatment. He had actually been paired with the raven haired girl on a couple of occasions and though they worked very well together, they didn't really make conversation with each other. She was quiet...but not unsociable. He had guessed that she just wanted to resume training as fast as possible.

But this time it would be different, because Annie was paired with him. She and Reiner had never been paired with him during these assignments, and it was the first time he and Annie could pass some time in each other's presence without arising suspicion.

As the instructor assigned other chores to the rest of the cadets, Bertholdt waited at the door leading to the kitchen area, which the cooks had already left, and watched as Annie walked towards him with an impassive expression. He held the door open for her and threw a last glance at Reiner who was paired with Mikasa to gather some wood for the upcoming winter, and at Eren and Armin who were actually going to continue training.

Armin waved at him with a smile as Eren walked away, frustrated at the fact that his usual training companion was busy. Bertholdt waved back at Armin, and only when the blond exited the mess hall, did the taller boy enter the kitchen, making sure that the door behind him was closed.

Annie immediately began washing the dishes, which had already been stacked in the kitchen by the other cadets, piling them to her left, so that Bertholdt could dry them with a cloth. Slowly and quietly, the young man walked to her left side. Several minutes passed in silence as they worked together in syncrony. It was the good kind of silence; neither awkward nor nervous.

Even if it was the most relaxing moment he had had in a very long time, for some reason, he decided to try to make conversation.

"Hey..."

Annie glanced at him slowly then averted her eyes and murmured back, "Hey..."

After this, they both got slower in completing their assignment.

"It's...nice to see you." _S__ee you_ _without worry of being noticed. _He thought sadly.

Annie looked at him again, "Yeah...it is...really nice." She kept looking at him this time, and just left the plate she was washing. She turned towards the door for a second, before looking at him again, posing her hands on the sink's edge.

"Do you...want to talk about something?" She asked.

"Sure...but what about you? Do you want to talk?" He asked carefully, internally wincing for asking such a stupid question. Annie never minced words, she even asked him if he wanted to talk...as if he would waste the chance to talk with her when they were sure that there was no one watching.

Annie shook her head softly, "No, I only asked for the sake of our 'friendship'. I secretly hoped you would say no." She confessed with a dry tone, resuming her work.

"Oh..." Bertholdt murmured in genuine dismay, blushing in embarassment.

He turned away and resumed drying the plates until he could see his reflection on them.

Annie frowned at him, "You're still as dense as a brick..." she remarked in a strange tone, "You know that I was kidding, right?"

"Oh..." He stupidly murmured again.

Annie gave a single, very soft chuckle. The smallest of smiles on her lips as she scrubbed another plate with a sponge.

Pushing away his embarassment, he spoke up again, "Putting my stupidity to the back of our minds...how are you doing?"

Annie gave him a side glance, "If you're subtly asking about how I'm doing with Eren, my answer remains the same. Nothing is going on between me and him apart from combat training. I even refused to train on the maneuver gear with him though he insisted on it." She told him emotionlessly.

"Okay, I believe you." He stated, placatingly. "What about the other cadets? Have you gotten close to any of them?" He asked carefully, changing the subject.

Annie didn't look at him, "No, I didn't get close to any of them. It's better this way..." Her blonde bangs covered her face's left side, and he couldn't see her expression as she spoke, "...I still don't understand why you and Reiner did though."

Bertholdt swallowed as a drop of sweat slid down the bridge of his nose, "I told you I didn't plan to...didn't really plan for anything actually..." He told her with a low tone.

Annie just looked at him and Bertholdt decided to open up a topic they didn't have the chance to talk about.

"I wanted to talk to you about Reiner."

Her face morphed into an upset expression, "Why? What do you have to say about that fool?"

"Look, I know that you never saw eye to eye to him, but I'm worried for him. I swear he doesn't seem like himself som-"

"That's because he's acting like Marcel!! Really Bertholdt?! You didn't notice?! Anybody that knows us would have noticed!!" She whispered harshly, fury plain on her face.

Bertholdt flinched, but continued his interrupted sentence after Annie stopped talking, "It's not like that, I noticed that he's acting like Marcel. What I mean, is that sometimes it doesn't seem like it's **him **who's talking to me or the cadets." He explained.

Annie looked at him with an expression that told him loud and clear, that she didn't give a fuck about his worry.

That expression made Bertholdt frustrated and angry.

"Whatever, it's probably just my imagination. After all, a god of destruction can't understand the people around him, can he?" He rhetorically asked, gazing directly in her azure eyes with a bit of anger.

Annie gaped at him in shock, and just as she was about to talk, he turned around and completely ignored her, quickly resuming his work.

She probably didn't expect him to say something like that.

Silence permeated the room for a few minutes as the two Warriors worked to complete their assignment. They couldn't take much longer if they didn't want Shadis to barge into the room.

Bertholdt knew that quarreling like that was stupid.

Annie just didn't know how Reiner really acted, not having been close to him during training, and because of that, she only saw him acting like Marcel.

Bertholdt thought it was better if he apologized to Annie, even if he didn't regret saying that to her.

It would be of absolutely no help for him and Annie to be angry at each other.

They needed to stand together to get out of this situation.

He was just about to apologize, after he dried the last plate, when he froze completely at seeing the reflection on it.

It was a sight he saw in his nightmares many times.

Its enormous jade eyes, its skinless red face, its giant teeth. The Colossal Titan looked at him with an hard expression...as if it was reminding him of what he really was.

Bertholdt was in a trance as he looked directly in the eyes of the reflection.

He started to see flashes of what he knew were memories. The years of war and violence that the holders of the Colossal Titans witnessed. The death they caused after inheriting its power.

"Bertholdt?" He faintly heard his name being called by a seemingly distant voice.

Bertholdt ignored it as he suddenly found himself on top of one of the Walls. Standing right in front of the monster that he possessed.

**The** **monster that he was**.

Suddenly someone gripped his right shoulder and shook him out of his trance. He blinked and he suddenly found himself in the kitchen again, his real face reflected on the plate, several beads of sweat on his forehead.

When he turned, worried azure eyes looked at him in concern, "What is it?" Annie asked, glancing at the plate in his hands, "Are you seeing something?"

_How does she know? _He asked in his mind, looking at her in shock, eyes conveying his surprise. Annie noticed it but instead of talking she just took the plate out of his hands and piled it with the others on the counter.

The two Warriors stared at each other in silence.

"Bertholdt, you're not a god of destruction...you're more than that." The blonde girl declared.

The taller boy just looked at her blankly, "As much as I like to hear you say that, we both know that's not true...we should get going..." He said, intent on walking away.

He didn't even have the time to make the first step before he found himself on the ground, staring at the ceiling.

He looked left to see Annie watching him, kneeling by his side, "You're not a god of destruction and you're not the only one responsible for what happened to the people inside the walls. I was the one who carried you and Reiner there, and though I didn't see anything of what happened, I'm fully aware of the fact that those deaths are on me just as much as they are on you and Reiner." She told him bluntly.

"I know how it feels to be guilty. You know that the people of Shiganshina weren't the first to die because of us, remember the last test the Marleyans put us through? The soldiers we killed from that neighbouring nation would have killed us if we didn't fight...but they were still people." She told him, reminding him of the time; he, Marcel, Reiner, Annie, Zeke, and the holder of the Cart Titan, which still wasn't Pieck during that operation, invaded a nation and made it surrender in the very first battle they had.

The only casualties were the soldiers of that nation and though Bertholdt didn't get very close to any of said soldiers during that battle, he knew that Annie, Reiner and the others did. They never talked about it, but he was sure that his Warrior friends had to crush, smash, and do many other things that they hated to do to those soldiers.

"I don't exactly know what was going through Reiner's head at the time, but do you want to know what was going through mine?" Annie asked him.

She took his silence as a yes, "I was thinking that it was for a greater good." She stated, "I still think that all the horrible things I've done and will do, are for a greater good...you should start thinking that too, Bertholdt." She stood and offered her hand to help him up, after a few seconds, Bertholdt grasped it.

The dark haired boy looked down at Annie, and the blonde girl inclined her head to watch him after he stood up to his full height.

They held each other's gaze.

"I'm helping Eren because he is one of the few people I've met who want to change the world, even if he would be alone in doing it. That means he truly believes in his own righteousness...but he doesn't know about the truth of the world, and that's what makes him different from the Warchief." Annie said while staring straight into Bertholdt's eyes.

"The Warchief knows the truth; if he didn't believe we would follow him, than he would have still tried to carry out his project, even without our help." She looked down at the ground, "Honestly, I would have never helped him if it wasn't for you guys... I'm not someone who can change the world alone, but if it's with the rest of you, then I'm certain I can do it." She gazed back at him and Bertholdt was surprised by her eyes; her azure irises were shining like the brightest of gems.

"Eren **desires **to change the world... but everything is more complicated than just annhilating titans from it. He has no clue that the world is way bigger and different than he believes it is... and he doesn't have the power to change it."

The next sentences she said and the tone she used as she talked, got Bertholdt's heart beating in a quick rhythm.

"But **we **have true power; power to change the world..." She stated resolutely, suddenly grasping his hands with hers.

They were colder.

"Bertholdt, you have to believe that too, you have to realize that there is a bigger picture, you have to push down your guilt...that's the only way to make sure the people you killed didn't die in vain." She told him, slowly leaving his hands.

Oddly, he felt colder without her hands touching his.

"That's the only way to make it so Marcel didn't die needlessly." She added sadly.

_She's right. _Bertholdt thought, looking into Annie's eyes.

_But I don't know if I'm able to do that...push down the guilt of what I've done...I can't forget that man...that man killed himself after telling us his story. I don't even understand why he did it...I can't just forget...Annie, Reiner and the others don't need **me**, to change the world anyway...all I'm good for, is kill__ing_.

"Can you promise me that you'll do that, Bertholdt?" Annie asked, tone soft and low.

He swallowed nervously, glancing at the ground, "N-no...but I can promise that I'll try." The tall boy vowed silently.

Annie looked at him for a long moment. The two Warriors didn't know how much time passed while they looked at each other in silence.

Of course, it was Annie who moved first.

She started to walk away, heading for the door.

She looked back at him before closing the door, "Take care of yourself, Bertholdt." She said, and just like that, she was gone.

Bertholdt looked at the door for a few minutes.

After he exited this room, he would have to put his facade back on. He would have to keep the act for two years more.

And the only thing that he'll think about for these next few days or maybe even weeks, will be the discussion that he had with Annie in this room.

The future is unknown...all he can hope for, is to have another moment like this...a moment with someone who truly knows him. A moment where he can be honest with someone who understands him better than anyone could ever hope to.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Hope you all liked reading this.**

**As you might have understood by now, the titan shifters are going to be very important in my story.**

**C****hapter 116 was fire. What are you guys' thoughts on it?**** Did you like it? I bet we were all without breath at the end.**

**Anyway, l****et me know in the reviews if you find any grammar mistakes or if you have some advice to give me.**** I'm willing to consider ideas that you give me about this story. About which characters you want to see, or special moments you would like to see with said characters.**

**Of course, that doesn't mean I'm without ideas. I just want to know if you guys want me to make some scenes with certain characters that you might like more.**

**Till next chapter.**


	4. The Training Regiment Part Two

**THE TRAINING REGIMENT**

**PART ****TWO**

**January 9th, 849**

After two years since she enlisted, Annie was feeling like she did when she was with her father: Isolated, alone, tired, **empty**...

She felt just like how she did when she left her house and never returned.

Isolation was something she **hated**. Despised with all of her being.

She hated it almost more than she hated her father.

She never thought she would feel this way again after she became friends with Bertholdt and the others.

But she was feeling all the isolation and loneliness that someone could feel if they slept among people that would kill her if they knew who she was.

A murderer and a monster.

She didn't expect to be much affected by not interacting with Bertholdt and Reiner when she accepted to join the Cadet Regiment, but the seclusion she found herself in was unbearable.

The girl she bunked with, Mina Carolina, reminded her of Pieck too much, — though Annie didn't know what her Warrior friend looked like right now — the only thing that distinguished Mina from Pieck, was the former's positive expression and her knack for socializing with the other girls.

Pieck wasn't like that, she loved everyone in their group of friends, but she never got close to other girls aside Annie.

She almost always had a goofy expression on her face to trick the unsuspecting in underestimating her. Leaving her facade only when she was in the company of Marcel, Annie and the others.

Seeing someone so similar but so much different from her friend had Annie thinking about how Pieck and Porco were faring.

Did Pieck finally consume the Cart Titan? If she did, how much time did she have left in this world? And Porco...how was he doing without his brother?

Annie thought about the day she and the others were sent to Paradis Island.

**The carriage they were on paraded them like they were national heroes. The people screamed and cheered as if they had already completed the mission given to them by the top officials of Marley's military, and were just returning after saving the world by the mortal threat of the 'devils' on Paradis Island.**

**"Heroes!!" "Save us from those devils!!" "Chosen Warriors of Marley!!" "Make us proud!!" The Marleyans shouted.**

**It was complete and utter madness that all those people were ignorant or just didn't care that four kids were being sent by their military to kill people who never did anything wrong to the world.**

**Bertholdt and Reiner were sitting on the opposite side from her and Marcel.**

**She gripped the hand of the boy on her right.**

**He glanced at her, his mouth a thin line.**

**"What is it Annie?" Marcel asked tiredly, eyes half closed.**

**He hadn't slept that night, and if she was more perceptive she would have understood why.**

**"...We're going to follow the Warchief's plan, right?"**

**Marcel diverted his eyes and slowly removed his hand from her grip.**

**"Yeah." He said emptily, as if he didn't really care.**

**Annie frowned but stayed silent.**

**_He's probably in a bad mood from the umpteenth argument he had with Porco last night._**

**The rest of the journey had passed in total silence between the four Warriors.**

**When they had finally arrived at the pier of Liberio's harbor, everyone else was already waiting for them.**

**Theo Magath had let them have privacy as they said their goodbyes to Pieck and Porco.**

**Pieck was crying, her expression morphed into one of pain and sadness.**

**Porco was quietly standing to her right, hard eyes looking straight at Reiner, and glancing at Marcel occasionally.**

**Porco and Reiner used to be as thick as thieves before Reiner got chosen for the Armored Titan instead of him**

**Pieck suddenly threw herself at Bertholdt and Marcel, — she probably would have thrown herself at Annie too, if the blonde was closer to the two boys — hugging their waists because of their height differenc****e.**

**Annie looked away until she felt something tug at her wrist.**

**It was Bertholdt.** **He looked at her with an expectant and hopeful expression. **

**Slowly she walked towards her three friends and joined them.**

**"Fuck...come on, you big idiot." Porco said gloomily, dragging Reiner's hesitating body towards everyone** **and joining the group hug.**

**"Please...be careful...and stay safe...all of you." Pieck murmured as she sobbed.**

**"I'll kick your asses if you don't. Even you Reiner, I'm gonna be really pissed if you don't put that armor to good use. Ice queen, you better do your job and show everyone that you're a Leonhart. And you, Bertholdt, you tall beanpole, you better be at your best like you were in training unless you want... fuck... JUST COME BACK!! WE STILL HAVE SO MUCH SHIT TO DO TOGETHER!!" ****Porco**** screamed, showing his anguish.**

**In that moment even Annie was touched, she had always kept her emotions in check, but hearing the one who always behaved like a hot-headed boy scream like that, was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.**

**"Please, come back. I need you with me." Porco stated, openly crying and looking at everyone pleadingly, showing the affection he harbored for them.**

She still remembers that day in great detail.

She had thought about it countless times in the last two years. And in the last months it was the only thing that kept her sane and on the verge of going mad at the same time.

The memory of all of them together. Like she always desired it to be.

Unfortunately Marcel was dead, and she doubted that she could go back to those old times.

While she just kept to herself and interacted with almost no one. Bertholdt and Reiner were passing more and more time with the other cadets.

Her blond comrade was the most popular, respected and looked up to — altough only figuratively for the last one — among the cadets.

Everyone had been helped by him in training and she further noted that he passed a lot of time with Eren.

She frowned when she heard his name for the first time, but just ignored her suspicion when she saw that he looked nothing like the Warchief did.

Eren was a boy whom she thought had a lot of potential but had no chance against her, Bertholdt or Reiner.

The brunette had the resolve to kill all the titans and change the world, but he had absolutely no idea that it would take so so much more to change the world than just killing titans...actually changing the world would be an impossible feat, the only thing someone could do, was try to make it better.

Meanwhile, Bertholdt had been passing much of his time with Armin Arlert. Jaeger's other friend.

She saw them train together almost everywhere, and she wondered why Bertholdt was doing it.

It bugged her that she didn't know why he was talking to that blond.

Reiner and Bertholdt bunked together because the latter was too hesitant to even look at the people of the walls. Now he was training and spending a lot of his time with them.

_Is he doing it because he wants to get better at training?_

No. Annie knew he didn't have any problems with his abilities. He was chosen as the ColossaI Titan because he was the one with the most potential among the Warrior Candidates, now he was at the top of their class along with her and Reiner, and so far none of the other cadets promised to be trouble in the future.

_Apart from one._ She thought, changing the subject of her musings.

Mikasa Ackermann. Annie considered her a freak of nature.

No one could be so perfect at everything at the first try, and that's exactly how Mikasa was.

She was completely perfect.

That girl showed a margin of skill and talent that even Annie couldn't match.

_At least in human form._ She thought, as she exited the barracks and started her morning jog. It was one of their free days, which Annie always passed training.

As she breathed the fresh air of the morning, she saw a group of cadets talking together. She recognized Jean, Marco, Thomas, Connie, Mina, Hannah and Sasha.

They were probably gossiping or talking about something that Annie couldn't care less about.

So she opted to ignore them and get started on her training.

Unfortunately Mina saw her and tried to make her join them.

The black haired girl smiled, "Hey Annie!! Why don't you join us?" The whole group looked at her with impassive faces. They didn't really care if Annie joined them or not, apart from Marco, Mina and Krista. Those three were the social butterflies of the cadets, liked by everybody because of their gentle natures.

"No thanks. I prefer training." Annie quickly replied, starting to jog.

No one tried to stop her, and she was glad of that.

~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile on the training grounds, two cadets worked together. More specifically; a blond boy and a dark haired youth were training together.

"Look at how I do it." The dark haired teen told the blond.

A second later, the hook of the maneuvering gear was embedded at the center of the target that was 15 meters in front of the two boys.

"See? It's not that difficult."

His blond companion blinked a couple of times and looked at him with his mouth opened in shock.

"How did you do it!? You made it seem like it was the easiest thing in the world!!" Armin exclaimed.

Bertholdt looked embarassed, "N-no, I just aimed with my hip an-"

"Exactly!! How did you aim with your hip!?"

"I-I don't know..." Bertholdt murmured silently, looking away.

"Wait, I didn't mean to embarass you or make you feel self conscious. I was just... surprised to see you do it so easily."

Bertholdt glanced at him, "D-don't worry. I know I'm not good at teaching so it's no sweat." The boy told him, grimacing when he touched his wet forehead.

Armin laughed quietly at seeing this.

What Bertholdt said could disarm any situation since he's a walking furnace of perspiration.

Bertholdt looked away from him, "I'm sorry...maybe we should have asked Mikasa for help too, she's your friend, right?"

Armin looked at the tall boy in surprise as he blushed. "U-um...yeah, she is, it's just... I...don't want to bother her..."

_I absolutely **do not **want to bother her. _The blond thought in his head.

"Why? She's like, ten times better than me and Reiner." Bertholdt affirmed, confused.

"I guess...I just prefer your company more." Armin said, missing Bertholdt's look of pain at his sentence.

"Come on, you should try." Bertholdt said, gesturing at Armin's maneuver gear, and the target.

The blond nodded and readied himself to shoot the hook. After a few seconds, a metallic sound, and the noise of something hard hitting the target could be heard.

The hook was embedded between the third and the second ring of the target.

Armin grimaced, _I guess it's __not a bad shot but...not a good one either._ Armin thought silently.

_Am I ever going to be strong? Could I become strong like Eren, Mikasa, Reiner or Bertholdt? _Armin asked himself, looking at his tall friend.

"I wish I was like you." Armin declared suddenly, leaving the dark haired boy stunned.

"Why?" He asked.

Armin looked at him like it was obvious, "You're strong, smart, fast, kind...I could go on forever, pointing out your qualities. You're good at so many things here, and you're not even going all out."

"Why do you think that?"

"You're never carefree...it's almost like you bring a giant weight on your shoulders, but even so, you're good at almost everything you do... I don't understand how... is it just talent?" Armin asked in genuine wonder.

It was as if he wasn't asking that question at Bertholdt, but was pondering it in his mind.

Then Armin absentmindedly moved to sit on a nearby bench...and Bertholdt followed him in silence.

The two cadets stayed quiet for a long time. Both immersed in their respective thoughts.

"I had a friend...his name was Marcel." Bertholdt abruptly declared, whispering in an emotionless tone.

Armin looked at him silently.

"He was good at everything he did...doing chores, climbing, fighting, running...he was an athletic wonder even at a young age...he wanted to become a soldier."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Reiner wasn't like he is now. He wasn't strong or focused. He didn't have any particular talent." Armin's expression showed surprise at hearing this.

To him, Reiner seemed incredibly talented, not to mention that he showed a confidence and mental fortitude that Armin envied deeply.

The blond didn't have time to think as Bertholdt continued talking.

"Marcel was the one who helped him, and look at Reiner now. He's the second best cadet in the 104th." Bertholdt said, smiling slightly.

"Sometimes, the true potential of a person, shows itself in the direst of situations. You'll become strong...far stronger than you ever think you'll be."

Armin looked at Bertholdt with a skeptical expression, "That's not always the case..."

Bertholdt nodded, "That is true."

Armin felt somewhat encouraged by Bertholdt's words...but there was still something the blond was curious about.

"What happened to Marcel?"

Bertholdt showed the saddest expression Armin had seen on him yet.

"He's dead...he was eaten by a titan after pushing Reiner away from it, while I and An-...and my cowardly younger self watched. I did nothing as he was eaten."

Armin was sad to hear that, but he had already surmised what happened to Marcel after hearing Bertholdt's earlier words.

"What could you have done against a titan?" He asked rhetorically.

"Anything...I could have done anything...maybe I should have been the one to push Reiner away. The titan would have eaten me instead of Marcel...that would have been better...so much better." The young man whispered depressingly.

Armin was shocked to hear this. He didn't think Bertholdt would say something like that. His good nature made Armin say the next words almost automatically.

"You shouldn't think that. I'm glad you're here Bertholdt. You're a great guy and you don't deserve Marcel's fate, just as Marcel himself didn't...you couldn't have done anything to save him anyway."

Bertholdt looked conflicted but after a few moments he acknowledged Armin's words with a nod, "Yeah...you're right."

The dark haired boy glanced at the ground while Armin looked at him thoughtfully.

Bertholdt had clearly been uncomfortable in telling his story.

He had done it to comfort him, but if his objective was only to give comfort, then he didn't need to mention Marcel.

The blond deduced that Bertholdt decided to confide in him without a reason.

_Deep inside him, Bertholdt wanted to talk about Marcel with someone. It's likely he and Reiner didn't talk about him much...because it was painful for them to._

Strangely, as sad as that thought was, it brought Armin a warmth he didn't feel in a long time, and he decided to confide in Bertholdt.

"I...don't want to train with Mikasa because I feel something for her...and I know she feels something for Eren already." Armin confessed.

Bertholdt glanced at him in silence.

"I-I don't precisely know **why** I feel this way about her, but I know it started when we were little...before the Wall fell. More precisely, it was the first time we met. I was being bullied by some kids that lived in Shiganshina when I saw her the first time. Eren and Mikasa beat them away. She was really amazing, dodging every fist that was sent her way...as if she was dancing..." Armin told him quietly, relishing the memory.

"...then as the bullies escaped, Eren started to chase them while she stopped to help me. When I looked into her eyes I froze. They were so black that I thought I was looking at the night sky..." Armin said with a starry gaze and a fond expression, before remembering that Bertholdt could see him.

He flushed in embarrassment.

_Dammit, why did I say it like that? I shouldn't behave like a love stricken fool!! Mikasa doesn't like that, if Jean is any clue!! Ah... I feel so embarrassed right now. _The blond thought.

"I think that's beautiful." Bertholdt murmured, gazing at the blond, who looked surprised by his words.

"I'm serious, I think that what you said is really beautiful...and you shouldn't feel embarassed by it..." The dark haired boy told him with a big smile.

It was the first time Armin saw Bertholdt smiling fully.

_He looks...happy... it's the first time he looks genuinely happy. _The fact that Bertholdt smiled at him like that, made another rush of warmth hit Armin.

_Ah...I should have known. Bertholdt never judges anyone...he's just too shy and awkward. _Armin thought, smiling to himself.

_I don't think he'll brush me off for the next thing I'm about to say._

"You know...I had a book that talked about the outside world..." Armin started to say.

Bertholdt looked at him steadily now, his smile slowly disappearing.

"...I read that outside the walls there were so many things and places that people forgot about. Fire water, continents of ice, snowfields of sand... but the one which interested me the most...was the ocean... a huge amount of water, containing salt. Salt is a treasure as you know, and I read that the ocean is so big that merchants could never deplete the salt it contains...it may sound stupid to you, but I believe it's true."

Shining light-blue eyes peered at Bertholdt.

"I dreamed of seeing it with Eren someday and then with Mikasa...I still do. That's actually one of the reasons I joined the Cadet Regiment. Unfortunately Eren has dedicated himself to becoming a soldier and slaying all the titans while Mikasa just wants to be by his side. They probably don't even think about the outside world anymore..." He stated gloomily, looking at a small ladybug moving on the ground.

"...not that it matters now that Wall Maria fell. Humanity will be lucky if it survives this. We have even less freedom than before." Armin muttered as he saw the ladybug fly away.

Several minutes passed in silence as Armin thought about all the things that he, Eren and Mikasa passed through after the fall of Wall Maria: They had lost their homes, their families and among all that unfairness, Armin considered themselves even lucky.

Many people had lost much more than that because of the titans.

"From my experience with Marcel and Reiner...I understood that everyone should always keep close the people they love, and cherish every moment with them." Bertholdt murmured.

"Maybe the ocean doesn't exist...or if it does exist maybe you will never see it."

Armin looked at him quietly.

"Only one thing is certain...Mikasa exists and so does Eren. You see them everyday now, and you expect to see them everyday forever...until you won't. I think you should keep them close as much as you can."

Jade irises met light blue eyes, and Armin felt like he did when Eren first introduced himself to him.

**"****Why did you let them beat you up? You know that if you don't fight back they'll just keep treating you like this****, right? Do you plan to keep losing all the time?" A brunette haired boy asked him, showing only half his face while looking at Armin's crouching body from behind the corner of a building.**

**The blond glanced at him, "I haven't lost...I didn't run away...so I didn't lose." He muttered defiantly, looking away. **

**The brunette blinked in surprise and showed himself completely.**

**"What's your name?" He asked quietly.**

**Armin glanced at him in curiosity, ****"Armin Arlert."**** He replied cautiously.**

**Then the boy offered him a hand to help him up.**

**After a few seconds of contemplation****, Armin gingerly grabbed the boy's hand and stood up.**

**"I'm Eren Jaeger. It's nice to finally meet someone who isn't like those bullies.****" The boy**** stated with an impassive face. But Armin noticed that his emerald eyes seemed to be twinkling.**

Armin's mouth raised slightly, forming a small smile as he looked at Bertholdt.

The taller boy gave him a small upturn of his lips.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Come on, Reiner!!" The brunette shouted excitedly, flying among the trees.

"Don't tell me I got better than you at flying with this thing!!"

The blond teen smirked as he heard Eren shouting behind him.

"Maybe you should actually see where I am before boasting!!"

Reiner watched in amusement, as Eren looked in front of him in shock.

"W-w-what!? How did yo-"

Reiner's eyes widened as Eren missed the tree he shot at with his free hook, and started to fall down.

He tried to turn back and catch him, but Eren fell too fast.

After quickly flying back, Reiner crouched in front of Eren in concern, "Hey, are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I don't think anything's broken so let's jus-aahh." Eren groaned in pain and laid his back on the ground as he clutched his left knee in his hands.

"Dammit, now that you've hurt yourself, the instructor is gonna decrease your grade again."

"N-no, wait, I can keep going." The brunette tried to reassure, as Reiner started to unbuckle his gear. "Just give me a few minutes." Eren pleaded, slapping his friend's hands away.

Reiner sighed, "Alright, I'll give you five minutes, but if you can't walk properly after this amount of time, then I'm taking you to the infirmary." He declared with a tone that would not hold any protests.

Eren just nodded grudgingly, "Alright..."

The sound of several maneuvering gears coming from behind them, alerted the two cadets of the arrival of some new visitors.

A concerned, freckled face was the first thing Reiner saw when he turned around, followed by one that sometimes reminded Reiner of an equine.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Marco asked with a concerned expression. Behind him was Jean, who's expression of annoyance changed to one of amusement when he saw that Eren was on the ground with dirt on his clothes. It was pretty clear to anyone who looked at him, that Eren had fallen.

"Look at that. Did the suicidal bastard almost break his neck again?" Jean asked, laughing tauntingly.

Eren was just about to retort before Reiner started talking.

"Unfortunately I distracted him while we were flying with the 3DMG. Now, we're resting a bit before continuing the circuit. There's nothing to be worried about." Reiner told the two cadets, looking at Marco while stating his last sentence.

Jean laughed again, "Whatever. Heard that Marco? Everything's fine. Now, let's just continue the exercise."

Marco looked conflicted, "Are you sure everything's fine?" He asked, looking at Reiner and then glancing at Eren.

Reiner put on his friendly smile, "Don't worry, everything's fine. If we need help, we'll be sure to call you. Right Eren?"

"Yeah..." The brunette muttered, looking at the ground.

Marco looked less concerned at that, and Reiner watched as he and Jean flew away. The latter muttering; finally, under his breath.

"Thank you..." Eren said suddenly, after the two other cadets were gone.

Reiner grinned, "It was nothing." He said as he started stretching his arms and legs.

Eren looked at him silently before glancing away thoughtfully, "Do you think Jean is right?"

Reiner glanced at him, his grin fading away, "Regarding what?"

"I end up hurting myself in many of the exercises we do. While you, Jean, Mikasa and the others perform everything so well. If I go on like this, I really am going to die without changing anything." Eren stated in a shaky tone.

Reiner couldn't see Eren's face, since it was looking at the ground, but he knew his friend was crying.

"Hey..." Reiner murmured, crouching and grasping Eren's shoulder, "We're soldiers. It's our duty to give our hearts to humanity."

Eren gazed at him, tears in his eyes just as the blond thought.

"You said you would kill all the titans. You can't go back on that vow...if it's you...I'm sure you can do it." Reiner told him encouragingly.

Eren sniffed and nodded, "Yeah...you're right." Reiner patted his shoulder before moving a bit farther away and sitting on the ground.

The two cadets in training stayed in silence for a few minutes, until the brunette slowly stood up straight.

After walking a few steps to show Reiner that he was okay, Eren and the blond resumed the circuit with the 3DMG.

Much later, in the male barracks: Reiner, Eren, Armin, Connie, Bertholdt, Jean, Marco, and Thomas were around several small connected tables, playing cards together and occasionally talking about how training was becoming increasingly harder, or how the situation of the military and of the population of Wall Rose, was.

Thomas said that Wall Rose's inhabitants had had problems with their food and wealth, ever since the arrival of the refugees from Wall Maria.

In fact, now, the current population of Wall Rose, including the remaining refugees from Wall Maria, barely had enough to go by these days.

Thomas ashamedly confessed that he joined the military just because soldiers received more food than anyone else.

The situation wasn't ideal anymore even in Trost. Thomas' own hometown.

"You must think I'm quite the rascal." Thomas stated quietly, seeing everyone's surprised faces.

"Not at all. If you'll still serve humanity, then it doesn't matter why you're here." Eren told him. Reiner and the others also murmured their agreement with Eren's statement.

Unfortunately the brunette decided to suddenly ruin the mood, "At least you're not like a horse faced asshole I know."

Jean smirked, as if he knew Eren would say something like that, "Well, at least I'm not a suicidal bastard that will die needlessly by the mouth of a titan." Jean remarked mockingly.

Eren gritted his teeth, "I'm never gonna hide from the titans like you plan to do."

Jean's smirk disappeared. He and Eren stared at each other angrily, until Reiner decided to distract them before things escalated further than just murderous looks.

"Have you heard about the latest expedition of the Survey Corps?" Eren and everyone else turned towards him curiosly.

Of course, Jean, Connie, Marco and the others weren't as interested in the Survey Corps as much as Eren and Armin were, but Reiner knew that hearing about what the most active military force of "humanity" had been doing would probably interest even Jean.

"It seems like they planned another expedition 3 weeks ago. From what I know, they were transporting construction supplies towards Shiganshina when suddenly, after a few hours of riding towards Wall Maria: a large group of titans was spotted directly in their way by their scouts; with abnormals quickly nearing their formation, they had no choice other than leaving their supplies for a quick retreat."

Everyone stayed silent at that. Even if not every cadet in the room held the Survey Corps in high regards, no one could deny that their failure was a great loss for humanity. Until Wall Maria wasn't repaired, titans would invade its territory and only make the recovery of it, a far away dream.

"Where did you get this information?" Armin asked quietly, breaking the silence that had engulfed the cadets for a few minutes. The blond was looking at him with his big, blue orbs.

His expression had seemed a bit saddened by the news Reiner gave him, his body a bit slumped, as if deeply defeated.

But his demeanor had changed just before asking that question.

"Four days ago: me, Jean, Marco and some of the other cadets were sent to Trost, by the Commandant, to buy supplies for the cadets and the other instructors. Remember?"

"Yeah, I do remember that. I just want to know from who you got this information."

Reiner looked at him curiosly, "I bought a newspaper which had a very large article on the matter."

"Did the newspaper mention the collaboration or any comments of the commander of the Survey Corps in writing the article?"

Reiner looked at Armin in confusion, just like everyone else in the room.

"Now that I think about it, I don't remember reading anything that mentioned something similar to what you just asked...what are you thinking Armin?"

The blond seemed a bit flustered by his question, "W-well, it's just a thought that invaded my mind, b-but I don't thi-"

"Shoot." Reiner simply said, interrupting his negative sentence.

Armin visibly swallowed, "Keep in mind, that it's all just speculation." Everyone nodded.

After that, the blond started to speak.

"I heard that the commander of the Survey Corps, Erwin Smith, is incredibly smart. Now, I don't know if that's true or not since we never met him, but if the rumors are true and what you told me is correct," at this he gestured to Reiner, "I thought that maybe the commander left the supplies there on purpose."

Everyone was confused by Armin's thought, and the blond noticed it.

"Now you're thinking, 'Why would he do that?' Well, I think the commander knows that he can't make a single trip towards Shiganshina with carriages transporting building materials. He would sustain too many casualties if he tried something like that."

Armin stopped to make everyone mull over what he said. He was about to continue when Reiner realized that Armin's theory was very likely, especially after remembering a detail he didn't mention.

"Y-you're right." Reiner stated abruptly, surprising Armin and the others, "I just remembered that the article said that the Survey Corps retreated to Karanese district instead of Trost. There's only one reason they would risk losing more lives to retreat to a far away town when there's one even closer. The reason would be..."

Reiner's words struck a chord inside Armin's mind.

"...to attract the large group of titans that followed them to an area where they wouldn't be in the way of the next expedition."

"To attract the large group of titans pursuing them, to Karanese so that the path from Trost to Shiganshina was clearer."

Reiner and Armin said in unison, with awe clear in their voices. Eren grinned after hearing their theories, knowing neither Armin nor Reiner would think up statements like that out of delusion or hope.

The others had mixed feelings: Some were indifferent to Reiner's and Armin's words, while some were smiling for the possible actions Erwin Smith committed. It was a small step for humanity, but it was probably the most useful action committed to reconquer Wall Maria in the last four years.

But Reiner couldn't see it that way though. Nothing awaited the people trapped inside the walls other than death and suffering.

Defeating the titans was an impossible feat for normal people.

His thoughts probably showed on his face because Armin and some of the others looked at him in concern.

"What is it Reiner?" The other blond asked him.

Reiner answered after a brief moment.

"I was just thinking that even if that was the Commander's plan all along...it'll still take a long time for it to be completely worth the sacrifices. Especially since humanity's opinion of the Survey Corps is damaged thanks to the newspapers and the own regiment's inability to bring positive results quickly. I know it's a soldier's duty and responsability to give his or her heart to humanity...but how can soldiers believe they are changing anything if they don't see results even after countless sacrifices?" He asked quietly.

Almost everyone had slight grim expressions on their faces, after hearing Reiner's thoughts. His worries were something they could relate to.

Jean was really surprised to hear Reiner say that. It was exactly where he was coming from. Humans were at an extreme disadvantage against titans. He wasn't as stupid as to think he would be able to kill all the titans instead of dying meaninglessly. That's why he wanted to join the Military Police and hopefully, live a long and peaceful life...plus, Marco wanted to join the Military Police too, and he was one of the only people he liked spending time with. There wasn't a single reason for him to believe he could change or help change anything.

"Well, that was certainly gloomy." Connie abruptly said.

Reiner looked at everyone in surprise.

"Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin the mood with useless worries. Weren't we about to start another round of cards?"

"Actually, I have a better idea. Just give me a minute." Connie stated, before walking towards his bunk and bringing out several bottles of liquor from under it.

Everyone was shocked beyond words.

Marco was the first one to talk.

"H-hey, where did you get all that?" He asked even if he already guessed the answer. The aspiring Military Police soldier looked towards the entrance of the room, expecting the Commandant to appear at any moment.

"Y-y-yeah, where did you get that?!" Thomas asked in alarm while standing up, ready to run away.

"Relax relax." Connie tried to calm everybody in the room. "Me and Sasha raided the instructors' pantry today and while she only took food, I decided to take these." He said, flushing a bit in embarassment. Seemingly oblivious to the fact that he would be severely punished if he was caught.

"Are you crazy?!" Armin asked, almost shouting.

The blond was sweating even more than Bertholdt. Eren and Reiner seemed to have similar thoughts as Armin if their expressions were any clue. While Jean was thinking that if Shadis entered in their room right now; he would absolutely snitch on Potato Girl and Connie for their stupidity...maybe even add Eren to the mix just for the sake of it.

"Come on, I meant for all of us to drink it. We probably won't have a chance to drink together once we graduate. We'll be going to different regiments...we won't be able to celebrate all together like this." Connie tried to coax them.

"Plus, I have to get rid of the evidence of my theft...don't I?" The boy whispered conspirationally.

That seemed to do it because Eren stood up and went straight for one of the bottles.

"You know what, even if we do get the chance to drink together, Mikasa will probably be there to stop me from doing as I like. It's better to let loose now that I can." He said, opening the bottle.

"That's because she's the only one who can stop that stubbornly suicidal head of yours." Jean murmured quietly, unheard by everybody.

Armin gaped at Eren in shock, "W-what are you doing?!"

"I just said it. I'm going to let loose, right now. You should do it too, Armin."

"W-what?! But Connie stole all that. The Commandant isn't stupid, he'll know you drank his liquor if you drink too much of it."

Eren had an annoyed expression on his face even though he knew that Armin was right.

"Ok, I'll drink just a few glasses...if you'll drink too." Eren said, already filling two cups.

Armin was about to protest when Eren raised a finger, signalling him to wait.

"Come on, Armin. I know it's not good to do this but it'll probably be the only time we do it. I promise that we'll only have a few cups." The brunette told him with a sincere expression on his face.

Armin was conflicted but eventually gave in. It wouldn't hurt to have a few cups, plus, the blond was actually curious to know how alchool tasted like, "Alright..." He said reluctantly.

Eren grinned as Connie handed a full cup at Thomas.

Jean was also filling a cup for himself after convincing Marco that he wouldn't drink too much.

After a bit of hesitation, Reiner stood up and grabbed what remained of the opened bottle of liquor.

"Reiner, we really shouldn't." Bertholdt told him, gently grasping his arm, looking at him almost pleadingly.

The blond didn't know why his friend was looking at him like that. It's not like he was doing anything bad by drinking with everybody. They were all friends here.

Reiner grinned at his dark haired friend, "Don't worry Bert, we're not gonna get caught. We're only helping Connie 'get rid' of the evidence of his crime."

"We really shouldn't..." Bertholdt repeated, whispering to himself. Ignoring his words, Reiner handed him an almost filled to the brim cup while slowly sipping his own.

The eight cadets spent the rest of the evening drinking and exchanging jokes.

They talked about Connie running to the toilet a few days ago, only for him to return not even half a minute later, having forgotten the reason he ran to it. About Bertholdt's latest sleeping position and the fact that it brought rain instead of a clear sunny day as it did many times before. The fact that Armin was still very skinny even if he was training harder, and the Commandant's pleasure in scolding and punishing Sasha and Eren for every single mistake they did.

All of them made drunken promises of drinking together like this again after becoming soldiers, even though it would be very difficult.

Armin's and Eren's few cups became two whole bottles, shared only between the two of them. Jean drank almost an entire bottle alone. At a certain point Thomas joined him.

Connie and Marco were the only ones who contained themselves though they still drank half a bottle each.

Bertholdt was the one who drank the most; more than one bottle and a half as he felt his fears, worries and feelings disappear by the lightheadedness that the liquor brought after a few cups. Reiner was a bit surprised, but didn't stop his friend.

Much later, after curfew. Everyone slumped on their respective beds and immediately went to sleep. Marco pulled a blanket on Jean's sleeping form before laying on the bed near his. Thomas did the same to Connie.

Just as Reiner was about to get under his covers, Bertholdt spoke to him in low murmurs.

"You know, you were right. I should have loosened up sooner. They're all really friendly." He said with a slight hiccup and giggle.

The blond smiled in satisfaction. Finally Bertholdt recognized that he had nothing to fear fro-

"Too bad Annie and the others couldn't join us..."

Reiner looked at him in confusion, "What are you talking abo-"

His childhood friend ignored him, "...it would have been beautiful to see her..." He hiccuped, "The Warriors..." Another hiccup, "...together again." He murmured in an almost inaudible whisper. Bertholdt fell asleep and unbeknownst to him, his words triggered memories that Reiner had forgotten about.

The blond had frozen at the word **Warriors**, and for the umpteenth time in the last year, he felt a wave of utter disorientation hit him.

It happened again. He forgot about the fact that he was a Warrior and not a Soldier again. He was losing himself. His 'blackouts' happened suddenly and there was nothing he could do to stop them.

As Reiner watched his friend sleep, he understood that it was time to tell him of his...problem.

There was no one else here who would help him other than him.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Hello again and sorry for the long wait. Updates won't be completely regular unfortunately but I can promise that there will be a new chapter at least once a month. Having said that, I hope you all like this chapter and enjoy the pure epicness of today's episode as much as I will.**

**Bertholdt is my fav so I will highly enjoy every second of episode 15, though I already watched some of the leaks already posted on youtube yesterday.**

**Guest: By the way, Annie thinks that the members of the government aren't eldians because if they were, they wouldn't be working in the government, as the Founder would have just wiped their memories to not keep such uncertain and greedy allies on his side. At least that's my reasoning.**

**In the anime it is also mentioned that there were some families which weren't affected by the memory wipe. Some of these families were the Ackermans, and the Oriental Clan (so, someone from the Azumabito family or at the very least from Hizuru). Because they said that only some of these families were the two above, I assumed that there were other ones that were actually given noble status to keep their silence on the truth of the world.**

**I hope that what I said made sense. Tell me if I'm wrong though.**

**Until next time.**


	5. The Training Regiment Part Three

**THE TRAINING REGIMENT**

**PART THREE**

**February ****27th****, 850**

**He entered the mess hall****, looking over the tables occupied by the other trainees, searching for his group of friends**.

**He saw** **a** **light brown haired boy sitting alone at a table, waiting for his breakfast.**

**He walked towards him slowly, trying to catch him by surprise.**

**He lightly, but firmly slapped him on the shoulder, not saying anything about the slight flinch that he noticed him do.**

**"You didn't wait for me, little bro?" He asked, smirking at him.**

**His brother's light brown eyes looked at him with a bit of annoyance.**

**Both of them had very similar features; the same, small, upturned nose, and the same smooth face.**

**People would seriously mistake them for twins if it wasn't for the fact that the colour of their hair and of their eyes was the complete opposite of the other. **

**He had dark brown eyes, and short, dark brown hair that he usually swept back.**

**On the contrary, his little brother had light brown eyes, and short, light brown hair, w****hich**** he too, kept pushed back****, the only real difference being that he had an undercut.**

**They also were of slightly different age.**

**The dark brown haired boy was almost three years older than the light brown haired one, who was almost of the same age with their group of friends.**

**He sat down to his little brother's right, as the boy answered his question.**

**"You take too long to get here." The youngest answered as grumpily as a ten year old could. **

**"Well, that's just because you're too quick for me."**

**"That's not true. Don't say stupid things."**

**"As you command...Pokko."**

**The younger boy's face contorted** **into annoyance at the nickname before he saw a group of kids heading their way.**

**Two boys and two girls.**

**Two of each were blond and dark haired; with gold, azure, jade and dark grey eyes.**

**They sat at the table of the two brothers without preamble, each of them murmuring, "Good morning****."**

**The dark haired girl sat to his little brother's left while the blonde girl and the other two boys sat opposite them.**

**The dark haired boy in the middle with the blonde girl sitting to his right and the blond boy to his left.**

**The oldest decided to strike conversation while the group waited for their breakfast.**

**"I find it strange that you four arrived together. Why is that?" He asked curious****ly, the slight blush on the dark haired boy's face already giving him a clue.**

**The blond**** boy smirked slightly, showing his perfectly white teeth and throwing a glance at the friend to his right.**

**"Bertl convinced me to wait for them, saying that he didn't want the girls to search for us after the mess hall got too crowded.****" He informed teasingly, his friend becoming even more red.**

**"Aww...what a gallant knight****. ****You're gonna break a lot of hearts when you're older...maybe even the ones of these ladies here."** **He joked, the dark haired boy started fidgetting, his face and neck becoming completely red.**

**The group** **laughed****.**

**Their voices briefly raised the already present clamour of the other boys and girls in the mess hall.**

**The only one who didn't laugh apart from their teased friend, was the blonde girl, looking at the aforementioned timid boy strangely, her clear azure eyes narrowed and her pale blonde brows furrowed in thought.**

**"I'm just teasing you, Bertholdt..." The dark brown haired boy said, stopping to take a deep breath after his fit of laughter, "...you're still the same even after almost 4 years...I hope you never change..."**

**T****heir breakfast arrived right in that moment****, and after a ****few minutes of silent munching, the blond boy of the group spoke.**

**"Well...today's the day...isn't it?"**

**"Hush you idiot. Don't speak here!" The blonde girl whispered harshly.**

**"Yeah, I agree, we shouldn't speak here... though...there's no need to be so harsh Ann." The dark haired girl admonished her friend gently.**

**"No, Ann." The blond boy mocked, "Continue. Maybe I'll find out for how much the others can put up with you." He finished coldly.**

**"You dumba-"**

**"Reiner!! Annie!! That's enough!! If you don't want to be left out of our outing, then you will both get along. Clear?"**

**The blond boy and the blonde girl looked at him in alarm before glancing down at their plates guiltily. **

**"Yes...Marcel...sorry." They murmured together.**

**Bertholdt looked a bit dismayed by what happened****, looking sadly at his half consumed breakfast.**

**Marcel was always the one who ended any quarrel among them. He was the oldest of their group, and had ****always comforted and helped them when they needed it.**

**He was pretty much their big brother, taking decisions that would always benefit them more than him.**

**That's why they tried to get along with each other even though it wasn't always easy. **

**"Good." The dark brown haired boy said, elbowing his brother in the side as he heard him muffle his laughter.**

**"Pieck, since you're the most responsible..." He elbowed Porco again, "...you'll be the second in command."**

**The dark grey eyes of the girl in question widened in surprise before she smiled confidently, "You can count on me!!" She declared.**

**Pieck was always very confident of herself.**

**And f****or good reason.**

**She was the most intelligent of them —right after Marcel— and a naturally born leader in situations of great tension and peril. **

**"Good." Marcel repeated, smiling.**

**"Now, let's finish eating." He stated before munching on the rest of his breakfast.**

**After finishing to eat, they exited the mess hall, and split off to get their backpacks in their respective barracks.**

**This was their day off, so they could do whatever they wanted.**

**However what they had planned to do was prohibited, and they would get in very serious trouble if they were caught.**

**As they entered a forest and headed**** north-west —where they heard rumors of the presence of a special military facility— Reiner looked troubled.**

**"Hey," He said, walking by Marcel's side while the others were behind them****, "I thought about it a bit and...maybe we should head back. We don't need to risk getting in trouble for this."**

**Marcel looked at him seriously, "I understand where you're coming from...but I disagree. We never actually saw them transformed. We must understand what they are and how they act before we get their place."**

**Reiner didn't seem convinced and Marcel noticed it, "Don't worry, nothing will happen. They can't patrol the whole forest, the camp is too big for that."**

**The blond boy nodded, slightly more swayed.**

**A few minutes passed in silence as the six kids made their way through the foliage of the forest.**

**Marcel distractingly heard a conversation between his brother, the girls and the dark haired boy of their little group as he stepped over the root of a tree.**

**Suddenly, the dark brown haired boy remembered something that he had intended to give to the blond boy currently walking by his side.**

**"Oh, I almost forgot..." Marcel abruptly said, moving his backpack in front of him and digging into it while continuing to walk.**

**Reiner watched him curiosly.**

**"...here it is." He muttered in satisfaction, pulling a knife out**** of the backpack.**

**He smiled, "This is for you."**

**The blond watched him confusingly, "What? Why?"**

**"Didn't I tell you that I would give you a birthday gift in advance?"**

**Reiner gaped in surprise as Marcel looked at him excitingly, "Come on, look at it."**

**Reiner smiled as he took the knife in his hands, scanning it thoroughly.**

**It was a survival knife: five inches long with the one edge blade so sharp that a simple touch would cut any skin.**

**Its handle was made of smooth and neat wood, and though it didn't completely fit in his small hand, Reiner knew that it would be perfect for when he'd be older.**

**"You should always keep it cleaned if you don't want it to rust. I'm sorry that I couldn't find a scabbard for it."**

**The blond looked at the older boy in admiration, "It's no problem. I-I love it... thank you...but where did you get it?"**

**"That's a secret." Marcel said without hesitation.**

**"Oh, come on. You can't say that." Reiner stated.**

**Just as he said this, they arrived at a small precipice devoid of trees.**

**It overlooked a large quarry that went on for more than half a kilometer and was at least fifty meters deep.**

**"Is this it?" Porco asked in wonder.**

**Abruptly, five bolts of lightning hit the quarry in almost the same place.**

**"Everyone on the ground!!" Marcel ordered quickly.**

**After crawling to the edge of the cliff, the whole group looked in shock at the three giant humanoid figures that stood far below them while two more were on all fours.**

**"H-holy shit." Porco stated breathlessly.**

**Marcel looked at him.**

**In other circumstances he would have admonished his brother for swearing, but now wasn't the time, "The binoculars."**

**His brother nodded and immediately dug into his backpack.**

**Taking the binoculars in his hands,**** Marcel focused on the five titans in the quarry.**

**They**** all had white hair, signalling the nearing end of their term.**

**Except for the titan covered in fur and the one which had the most quadrupedal stance.**

**Marcel tried to analize everything about their bodies while his companions did the same with their own binoculars****.**

**He zoomed in on the golden eyes of what he knew was the Beast Titan, freezing in fear when they seemed to look straight at him****.**

**Immediately after,**** a much bigger bolt of lightning hit the quarry several dozen of meters away from the five Warriors of Marley. **

She shot straight up, gasping and panting as sweat coated her body and the sheets of the bed.

She had another dream.

As always, she didn't have the slightest clue on what it was about.

She looked around the room cautiously, calming her breathing in the meantime.

All the other girls were still asleep...apart from the girl that she had attached herself to.

She was on the bed near hers, and though the blonde wasn't showing any sign of being awake, by now the brunette could tell even the slightest change of her breathing.

When Krista slept, she made very silent snorts that someone could hear only if they were near her.

Right now she wasn't snoring.

In fact, she was breathing rhytmically.

A very good try to fake being asleep if someone asked Ymir.

It was in that exact moment that the blonde opened her eyes and the brunette strangely became very self conscious about the fact that she probably looked terrible...maybe even disgusting...but she pushed the feeling away.

_I don't care what people think of me._ _Even her._

"Ymir? What is it?"

Half lidded, bright blue eyes blinked at her, and Ymir barely had the self control to look away before she made a fool of herself.

"You already know." She said, "I know I woke you up, Krista. There was no need to fake being asleep."

The blonde made a slightly frustrated face at having been caught, and Ymir almost smiled.

"Will you ever tell me the reason you wake up like this?" Krista asked, making sure to keep her voice low to not wake up the other girls.

"Nope...well...maybe...at the same time that I reveal my secret to you."

Krista made another face at that and Ymir didn't waste time to argue, laying back on the drenched sheets of her bed and trying to get as much more sleep as possible.

When she woke up again, it was by the sound of the morning bell.

She tiredly rubbed her eyes and got down from her bunk as the other girls did the same.

She distractedly noticed that Mina Carolina was trying to shake awake the blonde that seemed to have a stick up her ass since she was born.

She ignored them as she put on her uniform, waiting for her friend to do the same.

Today was the final test before graduation, and she couldn't afford any distractions...apart from the one she was here for.

After having breakfast and seeing horse face and Jaeger trying to go at each other's throats before being stopped by Braun; Ymir and every other member of the 104th stood in several, orderly lines of 15 cadets each, waiting for the start of the final test.

Ymir was in the second line, so she had an almost clear view of Keith Shadis as he started to explain the test with a booming voice.

"Alright cadets listen up!! You all know how the test will be performed!! There is only one, new, little detail that I forgot to mention until now!!" He declared, not sounding the least bit apologetic.

Ymir narrowed her eyes.

"Pairs of two cadets will work together during the test!!...PAY CLOSE ATTENTION SPRINGER!!" He suddenly boomed, making the major part of the cadets jump.

She glanced towards the reprimanded boy as he straightened himself.

"...If you won't work well together, your grade is gonna lower dramatically!! Since I want to get rid of you, I won't add anything else!!"

_Oh shit..._

She wasn't really talented with the ODM gear but she had abilities a bit superior to the average cadet.

Unfortunately, she never did well in teamwork, whatever the activity was.

There was something that worried her more though...that something was actually at her right side and couldn't even reach her shoulder.

"Now, I will announce the pairs!!" Ymir watched in silence as the commandant started to read from a clipboard.

"Eren Jaeger and Jean Kirschstein!!" Ymir watched as the two cadets slowly walked towards the commandant, noticing their murderous expressions.

_This'll be fun._

She was pretty sure that everyone would have laughed out loud if there wasn't the certain fact that the Commandant would absolutely torture the souls out of the ones who did so.

It was in no way a secret that Jaeger and Kirschstein hated each other.

If the Commandant wanted to test the cadets' ability in teamwork than he had the right idea in pairing those two together.

Ymir couldn't fathom to imagin who the commandant paired her and Krista up with.

As she faintly payed attention to the names the commandant called, she heard the one she was most interested in.

"Krista Lenz and Reiner Braun!!" Well, for how much she disliked muscle boy there, Ymir couldn't deny that Krista would get a very good grade with Braun helping her.

_N__ot that I would ever admit it to anyone._

Immediately after her thought, she heard her name and the one of Braun's lanky follower being called by the commandant.

_Meh...it could have gone worse...I could have gotten Leonhart_...

Ymir drowned out the sound of Shadis' shouting as she walked towards her teammate.

He was awkwardly standing near Braun as the blond talked to Krista.

"-kay with spotting a few of the first titans for me? Then we'll switch roles, and you can cut the nape of the next few ones after I or you spot them. That alright?"

"Y-yeah, sure...but maybe you should get most of them. I'm not that good with the gear, and I don't want to hurt myself or slow you down."

Ymir immediately interceded after hearing that, "You must cut as many napes as you can Krista. You'll have to be among the top ten scores." She said, looking at Reiner warningly, her eyes hostile.

He merely raised a brow at her.

Krista looked at her disapprovingly, then almost eager, grabbed Reiner's arm and dragged him away, "I think you should talk with Bertholdt and get ready for the test."

Ymir watched the two walk away before sighing in frustration.

Almost everytime she stood up for Krista, the blonde just ignored her or got upset, saying that it wasn't her place to tell her what to do.

Ymir just wanted the best for her though.

The brunette had learned the hard way to live for herself and she wanted Krista to do the same without it being hard for her.

_If she does good in this test, then it's likely that we'll be going to different military divisions...I'll have to make a serious talk with her before we both go on our separate ways. _She thought determinedly before hearing a timid, "Hey," a few meters to her left.

She glanced at the young man next to her, her eyes still narrowed and her mouth downturned in what was just her usual expression.

There was something familiar about Hoover that she couldn't really pinpoint.

He was much taller than her and it was obviously clear that he had a stronger body than her.

It would probably be impossible for her to make a better score than him...not that she actually wanted to though.

She knew that there was only one contestable place left in the top ten, the others being pretty much assured to the cadets who did very well in the training of the last three years.

The tenth place...had to be taken by Krista somehow.

Ymir had done only the least required of herself to not be kicked out of the regiment, and had helped Krista in any way that she could.

Unfortunately that wasn't much...

...but there had been someone who helped Krista have the chance to reach the last place of the top ten.

It was Mikasa Ackermann.

Ymir had initially been extremely jealous... but after painfully slapping herself for not having quickly realized that Ackermann loved Jaeger...only relief coursed through her at the fact that the strongest of the Cadet Regiment had agreed to help Krista train.

The raven haired girl had actually been so serious in helping the blonde that Ymir had watched them train during hand-to-hand combat training.

_An exercise that isn't even graded._

Mikasa had been adamant on the fact that if Krista wanted her help, then the blonde wouldn't slack off in any kind of way.

Now, with Braun helping her, Krista would surely make it in the top ten and join the Military Police.

Suddenly, as she noticed Hoover look at her awkwardly, she realized that her long thoughts on Krista's training had made her completely unaware of her surroundings.

She focused on the man in front of her, who understood that she was paying attention to the world again.

"So...I was thinking that maybe we could split our kills?" He asked her uncertainly.

Ymir narrowed her eyes.

_Have I just found a convenient person to take advantage of...when I don't intend to actually commit? _She asked herself in dissapointment.

Ymir sighed, looking at the man with her eyes half-closed.

"No need for that. I'll just take the kills I need to pass. The rest can be all for you." She told him without wasting time.

He looked at her in surprise.

"Why? Don't you want to get in the top ten?" He asked, his thin brows furrowed in confusion.

"I don't really think that I have much of a chance at getting in the top ten..." She told him calmly.

"Oh...so, uh, we'll have to wait for a bit for all the teams to get formed...do you want to talk about strategy before that?" He asked her in a dubious tone.

Ymir looked at him.

"Yeah, sure."

She didn't really care about making his or her own performance poor...but she wouldn't be an uncaring idiot just because she didn't know this guy.

~~~~~~~~~~

A few hour later, she was flying among the trees with her gear when she spotted their ninth dummy titan.

"Legs!!" She shouted, quickly flying around the wooden dummy of eight meters.

A moment later it collapsed as her companion cut off its heels.

She quickly swooped down to cut the nape and then immediately shot her hooks to the trees in front of her, while activating the gas mechanism to push herself in the air again.

They were actually doing very good teamwork together.

If she wasn't already hellbent on letting Krista get in the top ten, then she would absolutely be able to get her place.

Suddenly, she felt herself come to an abrupt stop as her reserve of gas ended.

She fell face first to the ground, faintly hearing a voice calling her name in alarm as she rolled for a few paces, her gear detaching itself from her straps and falling onto the ground with a clang.

Ymir felt the taste of metal in her mouth as she slowly sat up and gripped her bleeding nose.

Forgetting where she was, she started to heal her wounds. Her broken nose mending itself back and the cuts and blood on her face disappearing in a small cloud of steam.

"Ymir!!" She froze in horror as she heard Bertholdt walk behind her, "I tried to tell you that we should have gone back to resupply. Are you okay?" He asked in concern when she didn't move.

Praying to whatever omnipotent being existed, Ymir turned around, hoping that her face was healed and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

When she saw his shocked face, she panicked.

She was about to bite her hand with all of her strength; fear and desperation driving her mind, when he spoke, "Wow...I thought that you would be hurt...but you're alright. You fell on your body?"

She nodded quickly, relief coursing through her.

"Do you need me to carry you to the commandant?" She nodded again and Bertholdt gently took her in his arms.

After becoming aware of the awkward position they were in where he couldn't shoot his hooks, Ymir positioned herself behind him while keeping her arms crossed over his shoulders.

_That was close. If he saw me healing...I would probably be running away or...I would have killed him...teared his body to pieces with my titan and then told the others that he had just vanished. _She thought darkly as they quickly neared the Commandant's figure.

Somehow, that thought made her feel more dread than it should've.

It was almost as if a part of her cared a lot about this...complete stranger.

~~~~~~~~~~

Her eyes slowly closed before opening again.

She looked at her surroundings in the same way she did for the last ten minutes.

Her comrades were nowhere to be seen.

Just when she was about to surrender and lay on the uncomfortable log as complete exhaustion conquered her rational thoughts; she heard footsteps approaching.

"Sorry for being late. We had to wait for everyone to go to sleep before coming."

Annie watched as Reiner and Bertholdt walked towards her.

The blond sat on a pile of wood in front of her while the dark haired boy sat on a laid out log to her left.

For the umpteenth time, the feeling that a fourth person **should** have been here hit her like a rolling boulder.

In different circumstances someone else would be sitting in front of her...

Someone else would be talking to her right now...

"We noticed you looked tired today. What happened?" Reiner asked with an apologetic tone.

She didn't notice it however. She was just too tired to.

"While you were playing with your friends, I was crawling through the sewers of the capital. I was onto something...but the man I was following somehow knew that I was tailing him. I barely managed to escape." She explained.

Reiner stayed silent, mulling over her words just as Bertholdt surely was.

She continued after a few seconds.

"Whoever that guy is, and I can say that he is someone very important, is very smart. I'm sure he's got people to keep track of the area where he saw me just in case I appear again. He got a good look at my face too." Her two comrades looked at her in worry at this, "If you tail him next, it won't take him much time to realize that we're working with each other. We shouldn't risk it." She said.

Her words held very good value, and they were agreed to, almost istantly.

Reiner nodded in acceptance and then sighed heavily, "Okay...I hoped it wouldn't come to this...but we need to destroy Trost's outer gate." Annie and Bertholdt listened to him silently as he explained the plan, "If we destroy the outer gate to Trost, the Founding Titan will reveal itself to defend Wall Rose. It may very well be the only way to flush him out, though we'll have to wait a few days at the very least."

"That's your plan?" Annie asked with an angry frown on her face, "People will die because of this and we're not even certain that the Founding Titan will reveal itself."

Reiner didn't miss a beat, "Do we have another choice? This is the best plan. Bertholdt will block the gate from the titans with his body, so that the civilians have enough time to evacuate. Then we wait a few days for the Founding Titan to show up. If he doesn't appear after a few days, I will transform and fake an attack towards the inner gate...if he doesn't show himself even in that moment, then we'll just give up and wait until we're allowed to join the Military Police."

Annie looked at him straight in the eyes, "Hundreds of soldiers will still die...some of your friends may die as well, if not all of them." She stated in an emotionless tone, her eyes like chips of ice.

Reiner swallowed and replied after a few seconds, "...I know."

The three of them remained in silence for a long moment.

"Do you...not have anything else to say?" Annie asked, suddenly becoming difficult for her to keep her voice cold as she felt a familiar feeling bubble up inside her.

Reiner stood up and slowly walked towards her, crouching to her eye level, "You were the one who first proposed to attack Trost, remember? Why are you like this now?"

Annie remained silent, her eyes downcast and covered by her hair.

Suddenly Reiner understood.

_Even for how much she isolated herself and avoided attachment...she's worried about them dying...she doesn't want the other cadets to die. _Reiner realized with a silent, surprised inhale.

The blond turned towards Bertholdt, who was watching them quietly with an emotionless expression.

After a moment of silence as the two friends crossed eyes, Reiner turned back to Annie.

The young man swallowed thickly, "I want you to know that I appreciate all the work you've done until now. Without you, we wouldn't know anything."

Annie moved her hair away and raised her eyes.

"We have our differences, and it's never been easy to work with each other. I'm sure you agree." He said bluntly before continuing.

"However, if something happens, I will need your help. We must be ready to do anything to end it there."

Annie just shook her head, "Can you please...just get your face away?...I don't like you being this close." Bertholdt adverted his eyes and looked at the ground after that and Reiner just sighed in acceptance before standing up fully, "You must be tired. I don't want to keep you from resting. That's it for today." He said, starting to walk away.

Bertholdt noticed a single tear fall from Annie's eyes as she stood up from her seat.

That only fueled his already miserable mood as he trailed behind her.

The three Warriors walked in silence for a few minutes before Bertholdt spoke for the first time of the night.

"I...keep having this dream. It's about the man that hanged himself."

Reiner turned in slight surprise while Annie kept facing forward.

It was the first time that Bertholdt talked about a dream.

That may be because he couldn't really talk to either Reiner or Annie, as they almost never had privacy except for the times they met in secret like this...

...but it may also be because Reiner wasn't always in the right **mind **for it.

Even though Bertholdt's words were very sudden, his two comrades knew what he was talking about.

They had never forgotten that man, though they tended not to dwell on the past as much as Bertholdt did.

"I keep wondering why he told us his story before hanging himself." The dark haired boy murmured, barely loud enough for his two friends to hear.

"Do you expect to figure that out?" Reiner asked slowly.

A few minutes of total silence passed as the trio neared the barracks.

Surprisingly, Annie spoke up, giving her opinion despite being very tired.

"He probably wanted someone to forgive him...yeah...he was seeking forgiveness." She whispered almost to herself, "As if **we** could have given it to him. We, who left Marcel behind and ran, just as the man did with the three kids he told us about." She stated emotionlessly, "Not to mention that we were the ones who destroyed the wall and got him where he was in the first place."

Bertholdt glanced at her, giving her words some thought before telling her his own opinion.

"For some reason...I keep thinking that...that man...he may have wanted someone to **judge **him." He murmured quietly, his eyes downcast.

They didn't talk anymore after the dark haired Warrior's sentence.

But the meaning of his comrades' words wasn't lost on Reiner.

Annie wished to be forgiven for her actions?...Reiner didn't know.

He had never talked to her about it, so he had no idea if she felt responsible for what happened five years ago...but her choice of words definitely indicated that she did, and her earlier reaction told him that she would hesitate in killing or being the reason of the other cadets dying even more than he would've ever thought...

But what about his childhood friend?

Bertholdt wanted to be judged for what he did that day?...To Reiner, it was clear what kind of judgement he would receive.

Did Bertholdt think differently?

Reiner couldn't say what his best friend was thinking anymore.

The blond had leaned on him after his mental problem became more frequent and he had even made him promise not to tell Annie anything.

The other blonde would question his every decision if she knew.

Despite protesting strongly, in the end, Bertholdt promised to keep it a secret.

Even though his best friend had done everything that he wanted...Bertholdt never asked him anything this whole time...

_Does he really...not have anything to ask me? _Reiner questioned, glancing at Bertholdt while the boy watched Annie take the path to the female barracks.

_Does he feel like he can't talk to me?_

_...That's...that's true__..._

_I wouldn't know how to help him if he asked...I've never known how to give comfort_...

_Marcel was the one to do it...he would have known how to confort him._ Reiner thought gloomily.

~~~~~~~~~~

**So...if you haven't viewed chapter 117 of the manga...then you shouldn't read the following rant...****Where to begin?**

**Reiner? Yeah...Reiner got fucked up badly.**

**To me, it's confirmed that Reiner is useless, and that's disappointing to me...**

**It doesn't end there though. If Reiner got fucked up that bad by Eren alone, let's not even think about what will happen to him with Zeke joining the fray.**

**The one that I fear the most for, right know, is Porco...I don't think he'll get out of this fight...that's sad...**

**But hey!! Apart from me being absolutely bored and angry at the parts with Reiner and Eren fighting; the art was on point and the chapter was over all very, very cool.****It was really awesome like I hoped it would be.**

**Now regarding this fanfiction, I am going to make Reiner stronger than he is, because if I don't, I will just freaking cringe at every fight scene I will write him in.****That's all I have to say...I'm hoping to not have my heart shattered by Porco's or Falco's possible deaths...**

**P.s. ANNIE WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!**


	6. The Other Side of The Ocean

**THE OTHER SIDE OF THE OCEAN**

**February 17t****h, 850**

He slowly blinked his eyes open as a ray of sunlight— passing directly through the curtains of the window— hit him square in the face.

Briefly forgetting where he was, he tried to turn on his left side, but stopped when he felt the warm and soft presence where he wanted to turn to.

Remembering last night's events, he smiled, only turning his head instead of his whole body and admiring the beautiful, sleeping face of the girl that currently had her left arm on his chest.

She was sleeping so quietly and peacefully that he was almost scared of waking her by making the smallest movement.

Unfortunately, he had to get out of this bed. It wouldn't end well if someone found him here.

Even though this was his lover's private room, someone could knock on her door at any moment to have her ready for whatever duty they wanted her to perform.

He tried to slowly move her smooth arm away from his naked chest, only to watch in slight disappointment, as she opened her beautiful, dark grey eyes.

She blinked at him sleepily for a couple of times before yawning.

He gazed at her the whole time.

Everything she did was just too damn beautiful.

"What time is it?" She asked softly.

He smirked, "The time of day that I hate the most..." He said as he slowly moved his right arm over her bare side, "...unless my beautiful partner is in the mood for some action..."

She giggled sweetly, "You sure are vigorous today...just like last night..." the dark haired girl said, putting her left hand on his right cheek and leaning in for a hot kiss.

He moved his hand to her back as she gripped his tousled light brown hair.

Their tongues lightly met and danced around each other, fighting for dominance.

After almost a full minute, she broke the kiss by pushing his chest away, remaining breathless.

"Porco, this isn't the time."

He sighed, "I know...did you think I would have actually continued?"

Her eyes twinkled in amusement, "Oh, I didn't just think it. I was absolutely sure that you would have."

He glanced away in playful frustration at her correct statement.

They passed a few minutes in silence, simply laying on the cozy double bed, until Porco reluctantly sat up.

"Well, I should get going. You get some more sleep in?"

She looked at him lazily, "Yeah...I still feel too tired..."

He nodded in understanding. She always had more to do than he did...and of course; it didn't help that her work was both physically and emotionally draining.

"Okay then." He said, getting up and starting to put on the clothes from the night before. It wouldn't be good if he went around the facility butt-naked, though it would certainly be a shocking sight.

After putting his clothes on, he leaned in and gave the dark haired girl a kiss on the cheek before heading towards the door.

"See you in a bit, Pieck."

"Later Pokko."

He slowly started to close the door before noticing that he was forgetting something incredibly important.

**His red armband.**

Quickly scanning the room, he saw them partially under the bed. He could easily recognize which one was his because of the countless times he looked at it during the late hours of the night, when he found himself in a deeply depressed mood.

After picking it up, he tied it around his right arm and walked to the door again, making to sure to close it well after exiting the room.

He immediately turned left, heading towards the staircase to the lower floor, where his room was located.

More than one hour later, after showering and putting on a tight, short sleeved blue shirt, a pair of dark pants, and black military boots, he headed towards the Warrior mess hall, reserved to the Warriors and the Warrior candidates.

As he entered the hall, he took one of the newspapers piled near the dining the area and waited for the cook to fill his tray.

"The usual." He said, the cook giving him a side-ways glance before wordlessly complying.

As his tray was filled with pancakes, and he waited for his cup of coffee, he started to read the first article of the newspaper in his hand.

_RESOURCE CRISIS IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE CONTINENT_

_Disoccupation and poverty running rampant on the western part of the Marleyan continent as natural resources and a recent war with a neighbouring enemy nation, damaged the population and the already decreasing economy..._

Porco started to skip some parts as this wasn't news to him. He had already read about the chaos that the western part of the continent was in...plus, Pieck had been sent there as the Cart Titan, and after three months of conflicts, she had finally returned only a month ago.

She had briefly talked to him about her experience, most probably leaving the worst parts out.

That's exactly what he read in the rest part of the article as it recounted the fact that though Marley's two remaining Warriors ended the conflict in their country's favour, victory was achieved at an impossibly high cost.

No praise was being given at the Warriors.

As he frowned in displeasure at the article, he noticed a completely new headline on the next page.

"Good morning, sir." He suddenly heard someone speak, making him almost flinch. He turned around to see a blond youth patiently waiting for his breakfast.

Porco really hadn't noticed him coming.

He was focused on the paper so much that he didn't pay attention to the things happening around him.

"Good morning, Colt." He greeted, quickly glancing at his own tray, and the newly placed cup of coffee on it.

He impatiently waited for the fourteen year old Warrior candidate to have his tray filled for breakfast.

"Reading the newspaper, sir?"

"Yep."

The blond looked a bit nervous. "Is there anything good on it?"

Porco knew why Colt was nervous. It was because Porco was nearly three years older than him, and also because the light brown haired man never really had much of a relationship with him or the other lower grade Warrior candidates.

Sure, he had been charged to train them, as he was the next Warrior in line for whatever Titan power was next to expire except for the Beast Titan.

And he also fooled around with them a bit, though he never acted like a dick or an asshole like Captain Magath had been to him and the others.

But that was about it; he never asked about their families or their lives outside the Warrior program. That was actually what Pieck did. She acted like a big, irresponsible sister.

"Relax, Colt." He said, grabbing his own tray as the blond trainee also took his, "To answer your question. No, there's neither good news nor interesting ones." Porco said.

In truth, his heart was beating a little faster because of the headline he had seen.

_I would never say that to Colt though. _He thought, quickly glancing at his fellow Warrior's tray to change the topic.

"No coffee?" He asked curiously.

Colt shook his head, "No, sir. Don't like the taste."

Porco huffed, "You'll change your mind one day."

As they sat at a table for six, the light brown haired Warrior started to eat with one hand while holding the newspaper in his other. He read the new article with the utmost focus.

Colt noticed but he just munched on his bacon and eggs while stealthily peeking at the article his superior was reading.

_THE UNKNOWN FATE OF MARLEY'S __HEROES_

_It has been almost five full years since Marley's strongest Warriors were sent to Paradis Island in order to perform a complete purge of the devils uncontrollably reproducing in that dreadful place._

_There has been no sign of them since then, and an aura of conflict has been growing in recent times as anonymous informants tell us that the distant eastern continents are__ preparing forces and weapons to declare open war on our nation__ now that we're at our weakest._

_The greatest war against our blooming nation, after 100 years since King Karl Fritz's flight on the island of the devils, is about to__ begin._

_Are the Warriors or the eldians at all, needed to repel our enemies anymore?_

_Should we continue to rely on devils to protect us or should we prepare for a new time where humans fight against each other?_

Colt flinched slightly as the newspaper was suddenly crumpled into a ball by his superior.

Porco had an expression of discreet furiousness on his face while putting the ball of paper in his left pocket, and the blond boy remained silent as the older Warrior ate his breakfast with a clenched jaw.

It was no secret that Porco's brother had been part of the team sent to Paradis Island.

Even though he had joined the Warrior program a year before the start of the Paradis Island operation, Colt had never met the older Galliard, and he had only interested his instructors in being a future Warrior after more than two years of training.

He had no idea about how Porco felt, but he could at least understand his anger at reading that article.

Colt didn't doubt that his little brother, Falco, would act the same if he was in a similar situation.

_Idiots...they're ignorant idiots who know nothing. _Porco thought angrily before noticing Colt stand up and saluting.

"Good morning, sir."

"At ease Colt. How many times do I have to tell you that there is no need for formalities when we're alone?"

The blond youth exhaled softly, "Sorry, s-... Zeke."

The Warchief just sighed before sitting down across the two Warriors.

In front of his pupil, Colt, to be more precise.

"I can see that we're missing someone." He stated, matter of fact.

"Well, Miss Pieck looked very tired yesterday, maybe she'll come a bit late." Colt said after swallowing the last piece of bacon.

"That's alright."

"Anything special planned for today?" Porco asked, lightly chewing.

"Nope. Not that I know of." Zeke told him before glancing at something behind the light brown haired Warrior, "But I'm sure that you'll have plenty to do today."

Porco raised a brow at that, "What do you mean?"

Zeke just pointed behind him, and Porco turned around to see four young kids enter the mess hall while whispering among each other.

"Oh, right." Porco said with a slightly annoyed expression, "At least I can wait until they have breakfast."

"Did you forget? Today starts their hunger control training. They'll have to train the whole day without getting anything to eat. Only a litre of water each."

_Ah, shit. I remember that...it was so fucking hard to even think at the end of the day. I absolutely hate this training. _Porco thought to himself.

"Do they really start so soon? They've only joined the Warrior program a little more than a year back, and were chosen for candidates only four months ago. Me and the others started it on our third year." Porco pointed out, running his hand over his slicked-back hair.

Zeke watched him with a tired expression, "Yes, but you and the others were also considered Warrior candidates after your first three years. The new kids have been chosen after only one, and now they're starting more advanced training...just as they should." The Warchief said, sipping his coffee right after.

Porco frowned at the blond man, then inhaled deeply as he noticed that Colt had a conflicted expression on his face.

"Don't worry, I won't go down on them too hard."

Colt glanced at him in alarm before sighing in relief at his sympathetic expression.

"Thank you...Porco."

The light brown haired Warrior found himself resisting the urge to empathetically pat the younger man on the shoulder, as he stood up and walked towards the kids.

Zeke watched him go with an unreadable expression before sipping his coffee.

"See? I told you that you should have read the newspaper." He heard the black haired boy with glasses whisper to the black haired girl.

"I would have read it sooner if you just tol-" The black haired girl abruptly cut off her sentence as she noticed Porco coming to them.

She quickly saluted, and her three friends followed her lead a second later.

"Good morning sir!" They shouted almost in unison, all of them wearing their white, athletic uniforms, red armbands included.

"At ease."

There was a moment of silence as the kids looked at him nervously, "Sir...do we start heading to the training grounds now?" The blond boy in their group asked quietly, briefly glancing towards his brother and the Warchief.

Porco noticed it, "...No, we don't need to go now. I'll give you ten minutes to talk and relax." He said indulgently, then sternly, "But then we head straight to the training grounds, understood?"

The blond nodded gratefully and his companions smiled in happiness.

Not wasting any time, they headed to the blond men sitting at the table.

Porco watched them go, feeling strangely nostalgic as the four Warriors in training reminded him of the time he passed with his friends.

After waiting the promised time limit, he collected his 'students' and started to head outside the HQ.

However, as he opened the door of the mess hall, he came face to face —not really because of their height difference— with Pieck, wearing a long sleeved, purple shirt, black pants and light brown military boots.

"Oh, good morning." She immediately smiled at him before glancing at the group of dwarves behind him.

Her smile got even bigger as she started to ruffle their hair.

Porco knew that he shouldn't be wasting time, but he simply couldn't bring himself to stop admiring Pieck's face as she practically tortured the young trainees.

"Heading to the training grounds already?" She asked, kneeling to furiously tickle the blonde girl of the group, Zofia, into a long fit of hysterical giggles.

"Yep, and I would really appreciate if you let me and my cadets get going." Porco replied, trying to sound annoyed at her.

If she knew how much he loved seeing her like that, then she wouldn't let him focus on training anymore.

"Oh, such a shame. I was planning to tickle you next, Mr Porco." She said, standing up to look him straight in the eyes.

"I'm not ticklish, remember?"

"Really? Can I check?"

"No."

With that, he started walking down the hallway, the little Warriors trailing after him, barely containing their giggles at what had transpired between the two senior Warriors.

After four hours of rigorous running, stretching, push ups, sit ups and many other exercises, Porco decided to let the kids rest since the day was far from ending and they were already almost completely out of energy.

Since he couldn't really stop their training, he had them go the shooting grounds and supervised their aim with every weapon in Marley's military arsenal, ten minutes for each.

From precision rifles to pistols and machine guns. He made them try everything that the Marleyans had ordered him to.

It was not a good sight to see such young kids wield and shoot so many weapons, but it was his duty and refusing wasn't a choice...

**...yet.**

At the very least, the higher ups knew that they were too young for heavier stuff: like anti-tank rifles, or other heavy weapons which made even him, recoil back and almost have him fall to the ground.

Little Gabi seemed to be the most skilled in this field just as she was with all the others...

Her features and natural abilities were nothing that could even remotely resemble her to her cousin.

If he and Pieck hadn't made some research on her family, then they would have never found out that the young girl was Reiner's cousin.

_One day they will finally meet...and hopefully, it will be one of the days after we achieve our objective..._

Gabi's friends weren't far behind her though, one or two shoots slightly hitting around the target's center while all the others hit home.

They passed a bit more than two hours at the shooting grounds, before Porco told them to run one lap around the facility to get ready for their hand-to-hand combat training.

After the lap, as Falco and Gabi started to get ready for hand-to-hand, he noticed Zofia and Udo whispering to each other on the side lines.

The blonde girl had her back turned towards him, blocking his view of the black haired boy.

As he silently walked towards them, he heard their whispers.

"If you're not feeling well, then you should tell Mr Galliard." Zofia said, concern evident in her tone, her hands on his shoulders.

"No, just-...I-I'm okay." Udo said before lightly lurching forward.

Porco practically flew to him as he understood what was happening.

He took the boy in his arms and slowly layed him back on the ground, "You feel nauseous?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

Udo made a very uncomfortable face before answering, "Y-yeah...I d-don't fe-"

Porco hushed him, "Stay down and don't move. Zofia, keep his legs raised in the air."

The blonde girl nodded as Gabi and Falco walked to them, noticing the commotion.

It was in moments like this that someone would notice just how young Porco was.

The light brown haired Warrior rubbed his forehead, staring at Udo's pale face with uncertainty.

It was absolutely prohibited to give the Warrior candidates any kind of food during the hunger control training, but he couldn't just leave the boy so devoid of energy.

Udo would be too weak for the rest of the day of training and would possibly even be sick the next day.

_I gotta __bring him either some sugar or some chocolate, and of course, some water. _He thought before frowning to himself.

_The poor boy is even afraid of telling me that he doesn't feel good, probably thinking that I'll inform the instructor and have him stripped of the position of candidate...dammit._

"Alright...guys, take care of Udo. I'll be back in a few." Porco said, quickly jogging to the main building while Gabi and Falco kneeled near Udo and tried to fan him with their hands.

Zofia called his name only once, probably worried that he was gonna get someone that would do exactly what Udo feared.

After more than ten minutes, he found a few chocolate bars and some bottles of water for Udo and the others, deciding that at this point he should give some to everyone since they would need it, and because if he was found out, he would be punished anyway.

But when he got back to the place he left the kids at...he was met with an unpleasant surprise.

A Marleyan soldier was talking aggressivly to Gabi, as the girl stood between her friends and him.

Porco sighed in annoyance, setting down the ground the plastic bag that he was using to carry everything.

His face was one of coldness as he made his way towards them.

"What's happening here?" He asked authoritavely, scanning the soldier's uniform only to notice that there wasn't anything eye-catching on it.

The guy was a complete nobody.

The soldier: with unkempt beard and tousled hair, turned towards him.

"I was telling this filthy devil to step aside and let me bring her little friend to Captain Magath to have him removed from the position of Warrior candidate."

"Really? You think you have the right to do such a thing?"

The man gazed at Porco as if he was mad, "Of course I have the right. I'm a Marleyan and they are eldian devils, who should be honored to have the chance to make up for their sins by serving our glorious country!"

This was something annoyingly old to Porco, and he was actually ready to forsake his dignity —just as he had already done many other times— to not get himself or the kids in trouble...

...before the Marleyan said something that should've never crossed his mind.

"And you..." The man looked at him up and down in disgust, "...you're their devil instructor, who left them unchecked." He said, hate dripping from his voice.

"I advise you to come with me to Captain Magath if you don't want your bitch mother to be sent to your heaven."

Porco looked at the soldier dead in the eyes.

"My mother is dead."

His parents; along with Bertholdt's and Pieck's fathers, and Reiner's mother, had died in an epidemic that had broken out in their internment zone at the start of their second year of training. The fate of Annie's father was unknown since the blonde girl had cut all ties with him when she started her training.

Hearing his beautiful mother's memory be insulted made Porco almost get to the tipping point of his patience.

However, the words that came out of the soldier's mouth next were what did it.

"That's a shame. I'm sure that she would have been good at hunting the island's devils in her true form." Honest disappointment could be heard in the Marleyan's voice.

In a similar way to the fury of a boy on a distant island, Porco's rage could have burned the whole world in that moment.

"What about your mother? How many ugly sons does she have? Just you?"

The soldier's face became mad with anger.

"You devil's spawn! I'll make you pay for this!" He shouted, quickly launching himself at Porco, trying to punch him with his left hand.

Quicker than someone could blink, Porco had the soldier on the ground.

After dodging his fist, he twisted the man's right arm behind his back and then blocked his legs and left arm with his own respective ones.

The man yelped and whimpered in pain before the Warrior on top of him started to whisper in his left ear.

"Do you think that I'll get in trouble for this?" Porco asked, his voice colder than any blade.

"Who do you think Magath will give more of a fuck about?"

The man whimpered more as Porco twisted his arm further.

Only a small, little push and it would break.

"A **worthless, **insignificant Marleyan soldier who only ever produced shit for his own country?"

Porco pressed his right knee onto the soldier's leg, who yelped in pain again.

"Or a devil who's trained for ten years, and that is ready to take whatever titan power frees itself first?"

The man looked at him fearfully after reflecting on his questions for a few seconds.

"You realized it." Porco stated, cruel excitement in his tone.

A few tears escaped the man's eyes.

"You realized that I can do anything I want to you, and that the higher ups wouldn't care."

"Pl-please, I-I'm sor-"

"Shh. Quiet." Porco whispered, continuing a moment later.

"If I hear that you went to cry about this to a soul...I'm gonna come into whatever shithole you sleep in, and tear your skin off...piece by piece...until you won't be able to scream anymore...am I clear?"

"Y-yes, please, just stop. I won't tell anyone, I swear."

"Good." Porco said, getting off of the man, and stepping away.

The soldier stood up on wobbly legs while gripping his sore right shoulder.

"Go." The Warrior ordered. The soldier immediately ran away, scared for his life.

After the man was gone Porco sighed deeply.

_Problem solved...maybe...if the guy's more of an idiot than I think he is._

"Mr Galliard..."

He suddenly heard a voice whisper his name.

It was Gabi.

"...won't you get in trouble for that?" The girl asked, face frightened, and in some kind of state of shock.

She probably never saw a Marleyan being treated like that by an eldian.

"No, don't worry." He sighed again, briefly glancing at the other kids.

They were all as still as statues, horrified expressions on their faces.

"We won't get into any trouble!" He declared loudly, trying to assure everyone.

_At the very least, I'm certain that you guys won't get into any trouble._

"Come on, I brought you all some snacks and water."

The young Warriors stayed silent as Porco passed a small bar of chocolate, and a bottle of water to each of them.

Several minutes later, after having everyone finish eating and drinking, the light brown haired Warrior had Gabi and Falco get ready for close combat training again.

Porco could still feel that there was some tension in the air, noticing that his proteges threw quick glances at him for the whole time they ate.

Just as Gabi and Falco started their bout, the man of sixteen felt a small tug at his left hand.

Porco glanced down.

"Mr Galliard...thank you." Udo murmured, a smiling Zofia beside him.

A few moments passed in silence as the three eldians looked at each other.

"It was nothing." Porco murmured quietly, glancing away from the two kids near him to watch Gabi trip Falco.

**Several hours later...**

He breathed deeply, having a dreamless sleep on the bed of his private room.

He suddenly became awake as he felt a presence in his surroundings.

His right hand suddenly shot out of the covers to grip someone's wrist.

Porco blinked at the blond man above him, "What the fuck are you doing here?" He whispered quietly, alarm in his voice.

Zeke put a finger on his lips, signalling him to be silent.

Then, taking his hand out of Porco's grip, he gestured for him to follow.

A minute later, the two Warriors were quietly entering Zeke's office.

_What's happening?_

It was pitch black inside the room, but even so, Porco could see a figure motionlessly sitting on one of the chairs in front of Zeke's desk.

It stood up and walked towards him.

"Porco..." Pieck said, her face serious and grim.

"Pieck...what's happening?" The male Warrior asked, gazing at her before turning to Zeke.

The Warchief walked around his desk, and sat on the chair on the other side.

He gestured for Porco to make himself comfortable as Pieck returned to her seat.

"I'm asking again, what's happening?" He repeated, sitting on the chair.

Zeke inhaled, "Earlier today, —while you were training the young Warriors— Pieck and I were summoned to a meeting with the highest commanders of Marley."

Porco's eyes widened, his heart started to beat faster and faster.

_Could it be?..._

"The diplomatic situation with the Mid-East Allied Forces is out of control. It's predicted that a war that will shake Marley's very fundations, is gonna break out before the end of the year. For this reason, General Calvi and the other high grade commanders, have decided that the remaining members of the Warrior Unit will be sent to Paradis Island to retrieve the Founding Titan and —if they are still alive— the Warriors that were sent there almost five years ago."

_It is._

Porco exhaled a trembling breath, "Will I participate in the operation?"

Zeke's golden eyes seemed troubled, and Porco was momentarily scared of the answer to his question.

"Yes: you, Pieck, Colt, the young Candidates, and I, will be part of the mission."

Porco was slightly shocked at the fact that the four, nine year old kids would come to the Island.

However, that bad piece of news didn't stop the feelings coursing through him at the fact that they would finally going to recover his childhood friends and his brother.

_But not only that..._

They will finally accomplish the mission that they had prepared themselves for, in the last six years.

"I wanted to tell you as soon as possible... even though you and everybody else will be informed about this tomorrow...we will depart for Paradis Island five days from now."

Porco blinked several times before looking down, a half smile slowly forming on his lips.

_It's really happening...Marcel...Bertholdt... Reiner...Annie...we're coming for you..._

Pieck had been looking at Porco's reaction the whole time, relieved that he wouldn't be hearing all this from the Marleyans first, as he probably wouldn't have been able to stop himself from collapsing in joy.

"Unfortunately, I have bad news..."

Pieck's growing smile fell, Zeke's words reminding her of the bad thoughts plaguing her mind.

Porco glanced at Zeke in alarm.

"What kind of bad news?"

The man that gave him hope and purpose looked at him emotionlessly.

"...We won't be alone during the mission..."

He stated, to Porco's growing worry.

"...and I won't be the one to lead it..."

~~~~~~~~~~

**I don't know why, but I feel like this chapter is a mess and is very boring to read...**

**Well, I guess I'll just hear your thoughts about it in the reviews.**

**P.s. Chapter 119 was a strong, and sad punch to the gut**** from all sides.**


End file.
